Play day

Had a great day yesterday (Wednesday) introducing Perthians/Perthites? to the fun of working with sausage casing. Some really nice items were developed – will post a block of pics on my flickr page at some point, but not today.

Today was spent chillin’ at home, catching up on emails and finances, gathering more olives off the ground, giving Martien a hard time, walking around the block, bundling more op shop clothes. Here are pics of the olives, currajong and lemon gum that I used:

20140424-182419.jpg

20140424-182434.jpg

20140424-182442.jpg
And here are the lovely things ripening on the back yard:

20140424-182541.jpg

20140424-182549.jpg

Perth adventures

If I wait any longer to write in the hopes of getting pics up first, you might never hear from me! Multiple pics seem to undo me, so…

Perth is quite lovely, weather, location and people. Martien and Geri have fully welcomed me into their home, along with the ever present Clementine.

20140422-125234.jpg

We’ve been full swing into the Easter holidays here since my arrival last Thursday. Friday was the annual Pétanque tournament – didn’t win but also did not come in dead last! The best part of the tourney held along the Swan River, besides the great group of friends that I became part of for the day, was the numerous stoppings for tea and lunch and more tea. (Tea here means a whole lot more than just something to drink!)

A good part of Saturday was spent op shopping (think Goodwill and St Vincent shops) for items to be used in natural dyeing and/or mudcloth.

Sunday saw us enjoying Kings Park as well as a park further east on the Swan River where we also did our bit to keep fires to a minimum by gathering up various leaves and plant material.

Monday Martien got the fire going under a large stainless steel roaster and, after some rolling and tying of cloth/plant material/sticks, we gave the whole bit a go in hot rusty nail water for several hours. Patient waiting overnight before checking on the outcomes.

This morning held a bit of crisp chill in the air; it has warmed up very nicely. Our bundles have been unwrapped and magic has happened

20140422-130735.jpg

We will do more dyeing next Monday when Wendy comes over. ITMT, casing calls as we prep for the class tomorrow.

Posting pics will happen, just not promising when!

Moving Day

Yesterday was a most deloghtful day in that it was sunny – for the most part – and full of good things.

Started the morning wih poached eggs on rye accompanied by the sauteed saffron caps (mushrooms) from the other night – yum! Played with the resident dogs (Ooshi does like to catch balls!), experimented a bit more with the mushrooms that Kath and I collected the other day, hiked down the trails – including the 500 Ferber Steps – into the Katoomba Falls area, rode the railroad up the steepest incline in the world and ended the day (after many lovely conversations with Kath) with a lovely meal of prawns, rice and stir fried veggies.

Today was a drizzly day – perfect for repacking all my stuff. Jude scooped me up – after a scrumptious tea of cheeses, hummus and smoked salmon – and delivered me to the vacation home in Leura that I am sharing with three other tutors. Quite spacious and right in the midst of a gum forest. Took time for a bit a walk into the town center hoping for an internet connection, but ended up just drinking a smooth iced chocolate.

<a

Pics next time I can get online!

The Blues

Finally got to see some of the spectacular views of the Blue Mountains. No fog today and the sun actually stayed out for quite awhile.

20140408-222011.jpg

Expertly guided by Jude S, we drove to a couple overlooks, got to see a bit of a lyre bird courting his honey, checked out my housing for during the upcoming conference and had lunch on the top of the mountain ridge.

20140408-222341.jpg

Back at Kath’s we played with some mushrooms she found in the yard – really cool looking ones that we hope will give up some cool colors. That is in process – stay tuned for results!

Get set….

Oh, the piles!  They don’t seem to diminish.  Just added clothes today to the piles. Thought that would be a good idea…

 

Will be trying to squeeze out as much air as possible from all I can to get everything to fit. I think I’ll be okay weight-wise…

 

As a little follow-up to my blue results from avocado – after a washing they are now more purple than blue!  Seriously love the magic – wish I could understand the science!