This is what I feel like doing today

I don’t feel 100% today. There’s something going on with my gums and yes I’ve made a dentist’s appointment for Monday. I noticed last night that my gums were sore behind my two front teeth (of course), and at 5.30am today I woke and the pain was terrible. But I happened to yawn widely (pretty usual for 5.30am) and suddenly the pain was bearable and I managed to get back to sleep at 6.30am.

I was prepared to wait it out which is my usual course of action when it comes to the dentist, but a friend dropped by and upon hearing the symptoms urged me to take my phobia in hand or I could risk losing the tooth, eek! She knows what I’m like and has accompanied me to the dentist before. I’m sure my file at the dentist would have, written in scarlet, “Hysterical Mad Woman” but I just can’t help it. I have never been hurt at the dentist so it’s not that. It’s the feeling of invasiveness I can’t deal with. The nearness of this strange person leaning over me and putting his hands into my mouth and having no control of the situation. So is that it – I’m a control freak? Whatever it is I have three days to scare myself silly until I get there.

I might just do a Terry after all ……

Jan

This says it all

Wintry blast hits Hobart

   Staff Reporters   |   February 21, 2011 09.44am

A snow-topped Mt Wellington this morning. Picture: CRAIG MATTHEWS

HOBARTIANS woke to an icy 6C and a snow-covered mountain this morning as an unusual wintry blast hit the city.
Malcolm Dowling of the Bureau of Meteorology said it was unusual to get such cold weather at this time of year.
"February is the least likely month to see this sort of weather," he said.

"The sea temperatures peak late February and that usually keeps things warmer."
Mr Dowling said cooler air behind a front which crossed the state early Sunday drew progressively colder air over the state in its wake as the winds turned south-westerly.
"We had quite significant rainfalls with up to 30mm in the western and southern highlands and that obviously fell as snow above about 900m. It was unusually heavy for February."
Hobart shivered to an overnight low of 6C at 6am and by am9 it had just reach 7.5C.
The forecast is for conditions to gradually improve this afternoon with more settled weather for the next couple of days.

The weather for boats?

 

It hasn’t stopped raining all day, and it’s even a bit chilly. I didn’t think that chooks liked the rain but my lot are out there, sheltering by the boat.

Perhaps they know something that I don’t and want to be close to it, a bit like Noah’s Ark.

Naturally, Lulu the renegade is off wandering on her own. Ron the rooster dislikes the rain so much he’s not chasing after her. Neither am I.

Come back summer, please.

Jan

Now That’s a Zucchini

I have deliberately let this one go as requested by the grand-daughter. She thinks that they should all be this big. I let her take this one home – lucky Mummy.

We had been out to pick it whilst we were waiting for the cupcakes to finish baking in the oven. D was a great help, breaking the eggs into the mix and then fishing the bits of broken shell out of the yolk! She decided that we shouldn’t tell anyone about the shell until they had finished eating the cake, hmmm. Then it was time to lick the bowl. When I showed her the fabulous scraper that collects every last little bit of cake mix her eyes widened with astonishment and she sat on the edge of the bench and enjoyed every last bit!  Later they were all put in a bag to take home to share with Mummy and her sister.

She then went outside to cook the sausages on the barbecue with Poppy. She loves to cook and for five years old is pretty smart too.

So, I have another zucchini selected to allow it to grow to a spectacular size, for next week.

Jan

At Last – We have …..

PLUMS

And so this morning I have stewed four kilos of the purple ones and they will go into the freezer for future breakfasts/desserts. Luckily I haven’t even made a glimmer of a dent on the trees. The golden drop plums are still rock hard and the prunes probably need another week. But wait – there’s more – I’ve been able to bring in about seven tomatoes to finish ripening on the kitchen table! Only about another thousand to go…….. sigh.

I’ve had a busy week this week and guess who forgot to take something out of the freezer yesterday for our evening meal, oh doh?

So it was back to the pantry and fridge and this is what we had with a green salad

Yes, the old tried and true egg and vegetable flan. I used to make this many eons ago when my daughters were small (they’re now in their thirties) but back then, as a working mother, I used frozen pastry and vegetables, and I’m ashamed to say, not free range eggs. This time it was pastry made from scratch (this is very new to me and still exciting), our own eggs and most of the veggies from the garden. I haven’t made any cheese lately so it was Tasmanian cheese on the top. It tastes as good cold as it does when straight out of the oven so I think I’ll make this one again, and not wait so long about it either!

Well, better get going, the grand-daughter is coming after school today and I’ve promised that we will make cakes …..

Jan

Everything is green

These tomatoes are the ones that have been outside since November – still green

This is also outside and there’s only about twelve plants in the tank – obviously too many and still green!

 

 

This is how they started above

 

One of the twelve spaghetti squash on the vine in the grow house

Apple cucumbers in the grow house – we could be eating them for ever

A new planting of radishes which I sowed about six days ago

Taken from outside the grow house. You can see how the corn is bent over as it’s so tall now. The first cob should be ready this week.

I forgot to take a photo of the one little rock melon in the grow house. I am hoping for more but it may be too late in the season as we are not having much sunshine at the moment. The eggplants are also coming along but I’ll be waiting a while for them I think too.

It’s so frustrating seeing all these green tomatoes. I haven’t even bothered to mention the ones in the grow house, but yes, they’re green too! I’ve managed to bring three inside to finish ripening but have yet to taste one. Luckily the lettuce, zucchini and button squash are at least coming inside. The snow peas and sugar snap peas have finished so I’ve planted some more in the grow house next to the corn and they’re coming up well. It’s been a very poor show for beans this year and everyone is saying the same, not enough sun this summer.

However, the plums are into the kitchen, even the greengages, and pretty soon there will be so many I will be busy stewing and freezing. I had twelve peaches on my little tree and those that are left are sitting in the fridge.

The girls are all laying again and now the fence has been finished are finally allowed out to free range again. They get so stroppy if I’m a bit late letting them out too.

But I have a problem. Our property backs onto council land and the local skate park. We have a large wire gate directly opposite the skate park which I keep finding open. Then I saw the kids opening it so that they had a better and longer landing space when they did their speed tricks with their bikes. So, after being asked not to open the gate because of the dog and chooks roaming etc. and then told not to open the gate etc.etc. I went outside and there it was again, wide open. So I told them again why I don’t want them to open it. All I can say is that their ignorance is only matched by their offensive language and threatening behaviour! But that’s not all. It’s also reinforced my suspicion that I AM getting old! I find that I have less patience and empathy with young people and then they called me a silly old bat. (with a few f words sprinkled through). I’m not that old surely!

So now I’m plotting my revenge. It could involve barbed wire or electric fencing ……

No, not really, I can only dream.

Jan

Strange happenings …..

All I was doing was standing at the washing line, unpegging the clothes, when I heard this very loud craaaackkkk!

I walked in the direction of the noise and there it was, just hanging there. Now, we haven’t had a cyclone go through, in fact not a lot of breeze at all. We did receive a fair amount of rain on Tuesday (for us anyway – nothing compared to Queensland) but I can honestly say I wouldn’t have thought that it could cause this.

I love this contorted willow tree for it’s unusual shaped branches but M is just waiting for a chance to bring it down. It’s not that he doesn’t like trees, he’s greener than me, but he knows that this sort of breakage is going to happen more and more. I have to admit that with children and pets about it could be a major hazard, sigh.

I’ll wait and see what he says later and try and accept any decision made with grace (HAH)!

Jan

ps. Although we haven’t heard from our friends in Innisfail, we are fairly confident that they are alright. I’ll confirm when we do hear.