5 weeks break - Day 6 driving home

Day 6 driving home and exploring the South Coast of New South Wales

My theme for 2015 is Discovery and whilst that has all sorts of wonderful philosophical meanings it has one very simple explanation - go discover new places.  I spent my trip home visiting some of the lovely little towns along the drive and found some treasures.

First stop Bermagui. 

Strangers in Paradise vintage store.

Mister Jones is a very sweet little coffee shop.

 

Bermagui is famous as a fishing village.

 

Stop 2 Central Tilba

Central Tilba is a gorgeous little heritage village full of charming shops, interesting characters and the famous South Coast Cheese Factory.  Tilba is picture perfect. And the cheese is seriously good if you like vintage cheddar with some bite. Yum.

Stop 3 Mollymook Beach

Mollymook is off the highway from Milton and Ulladulla and I've never taken the time to divert down there. I'm glad I did today, its a lovely beach.

Pop over to my instagram page for a video of the beach.

There's nothing much there but the Beach Hut make the BEST hot chips. I could see myself having a relaxing few days at Mollymook.

 

Stop 4 Milton

Milton is a lovely little village set high on a hill just north of Ulladulla, NSW. Milton has a lovely feel of community despite the busy southern highway blasting through, full of cafes, antiques and home wares shops. Today I stopped at the bakery for the first time and bought sourdough to go with my Tilba cheese and some hot cross buns. 

Stop 5 Home! 

I do like exploring and there are so many lovely places a stones throw for home, hmm I must get out more often and see what wonderful places I can find.

5 weeks holiday equals lots of homespun bliss

I am today embarking on the wonderful indulgent bliss of 5 weeks from work with nothing particular to do and nowhere in particular to go.

Five weeks to explore what homespun bliss is all about. To cook, sew, garden, spend time with my pets, to journal and meditate.  Ahh how wonderful.

Sit back, tune in and let me share my adventures.

Day 1 - housework
Ok yeah yeah, I know it sounds boring.  But a clean, de-cluttered house is a wonderful way to start down time as it allows you to feel free and refreshed.

Sweep away some cobwebs and feel present in your home.

I've actually been de-cluttering for weeks and have sent clothes, crockery, books and more to the charity shops. I've cleaned out my filing cabinet - only 7 years of tax and bank records, no junk and everything I removed has been shredded. I washed curtains and sheets and put away all my work clothes, I won't need them for a while.

Day 2
We all went kayaking on a local river, you know one of those spots we've been talking about exploring for ages but never got around to, now that we've been its one of my new favourite spots. Lovely calm water with plenty of bird life.  We took our doggies along for the ride which they enjoyed, I think.  It was a new experience for them.  

They both sat very quietly and were such sweet company. I got a little nervous when we passed cows cooling their hooves in the river as at home the dogs bark and bother them but there wasn't a sound from either.

I ended day 2 like this::

A great beginning but stay tuned it gets better.

Day seven: end of a wonderful week off

I have had the most amazing week.  I have sewn, cooked and gardened my little heart out.  Oh so homespun and I don't want it to end just yet. Hopefully I have cleaned enough, cooked enough that I won't need to bother when I get home from work next week.

At long last I feel I have the head space to start to sew again. I have a number of ideas. Beginning with the functional: I want to embroider the scarf I dyed with henna back in June, at a workshop at the Maritime Museum. Then I want to stitch a pansy to reflect those I have growing in pots on the verandah. So many ideas.

I am very grateful for my week at home.

Here's how my vegie patch is looking after several hours TLC.

Believe it or not this pile is what I pulled out of the garden!

What's wrong with this picture?

I have big fat asparagus spears coming up. Yum, I can't wait to eat them. But they are several months early. That's how warm it is here.  Spring has sprung.

I've got to do this again!

Day four: freezing cold and raining, hmm let's stay inside and sew

Winter turned up unannounced today. It rained in the night and was freezing when I got up. I dawdled for a while. I wanted to go back to the gardening I started yesterday. I kept hoping it would warm up a little or perhaps just that I would get brave and ignore the chill and get out there anyway. Before I knew it, it started pouring and it didn't stop for hours and hours. Hmm what to do?

Easy! I stayed inside and sewed.

First I tidied my desk. It was a disaster.

Then I sewed two new skirts. I used a basic knee length, straight, side-zip skirt pattern that is my favourite. Fabulous fabric just needs a basic pattern. I bought this fabric ages ago. I am going to a conference next month - I think these will add some pizzazz to my travel wardrobe.

All I need is basic black tops and shoes and I'm set. 

And I've reclaimed my desk for my next project! I've had a great day. 

Day three cooking up a storm: spinach and mushroom lasanga

After the success of last night's sweet potato and peanut soup, I decided to keep cooking. This morning I made a fabulous lasagne and the crock pot is gently simmering away on a cashew, coconut curry.

My aim, apart from eating very, very well this holiday, is to fill the freezer with delights for when I inevitably return to work and have to endure the usual rushed days.

Here's the lasagne recipe. I was happy to be able to use greens straight from the garden and sauce I bottled last year.  I'll share the curry tomorrow, after I've tasted it ;)

I found this very collectable Henry Watson lasagne dish in a op shop for a steal last week. 

It is the perfect size.

Ingredients
1 packet lasagne pasta (I am now a devotee of fresh, see note below)
1 bottle tomato pasta sauce
1 large tub ricotta
1 tub silken tofu (see note below)
fresh spinach, silverbeet, kale or mix of all
mushrooms
parmesan cheese
olive oil spray

Method
Lightly cook the greens until wilted. Saute the mushrooms separately.
Spray your lasagne dish with olive oil, then pour in a small amount of tomato sauce. Line the bottom with lasagne sheets.
In a separate bowl mix together the ricotta and tofu.
Spoon in some ricotta mix, and spread evenly over the pasta. Add spinach greens, again spread evenly.
More pasta, more sauce and more ricotta. Then add the cooked mushrooms. If you have any ricotta left add it here.
One last layer of pasta sheets and the last of the sauce.
Cover with alfoil and bake in a hot oven until all cooked and bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle grated parmesan on top.

Cut into approx. six servings and eat straight away or freeze individual serves.

Note: Fresh pasta
Today was the second time I have used fresh lasagne sheets (from chiller section of supermarket). I used a different brand both times: today's type has convinced me not to go back to dry, unless desperate, for a couple of reasons. Firstly you don't have to mess around trying to break corners off or splitting them, very messily, to make them fit your dish as the fresh ones flex. Secondly I was able to make better layers by pressing the previous one down gently. That doesn't work with the dry sheets.

Note: Mixing ricotta and tofu
I know I have said this before, and I'll no doubt say it again 'cos its true. If you don't tell, no one will ever know this has tofu in it, or object. You can increase the protein and eat a more varied diet this way. It also gives the ricotta mix a better texture in this or canneloni. Tofu comes in lots of different forms, look for silken tofu. It has the consistency of junket, if you remember what that was like, or the custard in a vanilla slice.

The steam train visited Robertson today

The steam train visited Robertson today. We heard its whistle as it crossed the paddocks beyond our house. On a whim we grabbed cameras, leapt into the car and chased the train. We've lived here close to 10 years and we've never done that before. We have been at the station when it has come in but today we dashed in and out of the car, up and down the line taking snaps and it was FUN!

I took these photos with my digital camera. Howard took along his Spectra Polaroid. I'll share them when they've been scanned.

Its a stunning day, clear sunny. The steam train can only visit in Winter - there's too high a fire risk at other times of year. The heritage rail does run at other times but the old carriages are pulled by a diesel. It was nice to be a tourist in our own town. Nice to see so many people out and about enjoying life: the local kids were playing soccer, the cafes were full and there were a heap of people like us chasing the train.

Relaxing weekend on Jervis Bay

We spent a wonderful, relaxing weekend on Jervis Bay, walking, swimming, kayaking, 

wining and dining.

Jervis Bay is only about 1 and a quarter hours south of where we live yet we had never been. It is a popular holiday destination for people living in Sydney and Wollongong. The two main towns that we visited: Huskisson and Vincentia, are quiet bay-side towns that must swell dramatically in the summer. Luckily we visited out of peak. They remind us of towns up north and how they were when we were kids: places like Pottsville and Kingscliff that have been overrun with tract housing, hotels and large villas. 

We walked along Nelson's Beach on a cloudy afternoon, 

and famous Hyams Beach the next morning in bright sunshine. 

I was pleasantly surprised to be able to swim and read in the sunshine in April. 

The bonus was not getting sunburnt.  The water was crisp and invigorating.

We also visited St George's Basin a large lake with an ocean inlet. We kayaked out to and around these two islands. 

The basin is full of seaweed. Howard observed that it was like looking down on a forest from the air - I've never seen water plants like it but yes, that's exactly what it looked like.  There were tiny fish darting and water birds including cormorants, egrets and black swans who rose to the air clumsily when we quietly paddled past. The shore and bottom of the lake were strewn with half shells - I have never seen that before.

Kayaking around the bay and the basin provided a unique way to experience the place, so quiet, so gentle and wow just awesome. I can't wait for our next adventure.

Weekend getaway on Hamilton Island

Last weekend we escaped the onset of winter for a few days on Hamilton Island, Central Queensland.
It was the ultimate relaxation. Nothing to do but watch the sunrise, laze about the pool, snorkel on the reef and wine and dine. Aaaah.

Here are a few of my favourite photos.


Sunrise from our room, from Catseye Beach to Whitsunday Island.



View of the Whitsundays from One Tree Hill.

Windy near the Marina.



The natives are friendly,

But even sulphur crested cockatoos have bad hair days when its windy.

The gardens on Hamilton Island are very beautiful with many exotic varieties of hibiscus.

Crystal clear water in the Island Pool.

It was a much needed respite from work and the daily grind. We were only away 4 days but it felt like so much longer. I have returned feeling inspired to create more and am pouring more effort into my business. Hope you liked the photos.