5 week break - Days 9 and 10 Mulching garden waste

The rain has let up so we're out in the garden, pruning, trimming, weeding.  As they say, autumn is a lovely time to garden and it is indeed.

On Sunday (Day 9) we spent hours trimming the front garden, making things neat. I feel like we have neglected the garden for months, but I find once established it can be put back into shape with just a few hours work.

By the end of the day we had piles and piles of garden waste.

So our big job today (Day 10) was to turn all the garden waste into mulch.

Meet the mulch monster:

This monster machine turned all our trimmings into bags and bags of super fine mulch for me to spread throughout the garden as I continue my weeding. It chops it so fine in fact that it always makes less than I expect.

Howard is the expert in using this monster, I'm merely the fetch and carry girl.  Here are some tips to making mulch:

Tip 1 - a big petrol mulcher doesn't like moist, fleshy materials so no grass or weeds. Alternate between woody material and green twigs and leaves to keep it working.

Tip 2 - keep your pile dry. If it gets caught out in the rain it may be weeks until its dry enough to mulch.

Tip 3 - be safe!

Enjoy your mulchings, your garden certainly will

5 week break - Day 8 Burrawang Easter Market

One of our favourite outings of the year we faithfully traipsed off to the Burrawang Easter market this morning in the pouring rain. Wonderful stalls down the length of the main street make this market a must do on the Southern Highlands calendar. It was heavy rain this year - the last couple of years have been fine - but often the autumn rains come just in time.  When you live where we do, if you stayed home because it was raining you'd miss a lot of outings. Boots and coats came out and off we went.

We came home with ewes' milk cheese, olive oil infused with truffles and chilli, fudge and fresh organic almond butter. No antiques captured our eyes this year but they often do.

Its still raining so again, we are seated in front of the fire.  Watching movies, chilling out.  Week 1 is over in a flash and week 2 begins.

5 weeks break - Day 7 cooking homemade potato chips

Good Friday, raining outside and I have a hankering for fresh potato chips or crisps as they call them in the UK. 

I need 

• potatoes
• oil
• salt

All check. 

Howard's the chip expert so I peel the potatoes, heat up the deep fryer, get everything ready for the master. Howard has been making chips for years. They are a great party trick. The biggest challenge is not eating them all as they come from the fryer, actually letting some make it to a bowl. Ever seeking the perfect chip Howard wanted to try a new technique - an hour later we sat down to enjoy our crispy chips.  Slow food!  Howard is still on a quest for improvements but I thought they were great.

So I peeled and washed the spuds. Howard thinly sliced and rinsed again. Then we laid them out on trays to dry.  At first we tried a baking paper lined tray in the oven but they just stewed in their own juices. Our next trick was cookie cooling racks on the top of our hot combustion stove which worked a treat. They actually got thinner - don't leave them too long however as they'll cook. 

Deep fry until crispy. Drain on paper. Sprinkle with freshly ground salt and pepper to taste. We enjoyed them in front of the fire with a crispy white wine and firecracker cheese from Tilba. An indulgent treat but good, simple fare.

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 from work - Days 3-5 a trip to the beach

Sunset over Wallaga Lake

Day 3 -5
I headed south to spend a few peaceful days alone at the beach.  I found a delightful retreat via Airbnb that fit my needs perfectly. The farm is quiet, on a lake, 5 minutes from a wild and wonderful beach and run by a delightful couple. I kayaked every day admiring the pelicans, pied cormorants, black swans, ducks, herons and oyster catchers that call the lake home. I got up close and personal with large jellyfish too.  I existed on flat bread, hommous, yoghurt and fruit and was happier for the simple fare.


Kayaking around Lake Cuttagee


My holiday cottage at Tranquility Farm, Cuttagee



Early morning kayaking on Little Lake Cuttagee

The sunrises were as pretty as the sunsets this week.

The afternoons I spent walking along the beach, taking photos, collecting stones and sea glass.

I needed these days away. As much as starting with housework this trip was about setting the tone for my break from work. Breaking routine, starting new healthy habits and just being. Not trying to deliver what anyone else needed was a powerful tonic for me.

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.

Zucchini and feta balls

Here's the second recipe: zucchini and feta balls. I have eaten something similar at cafes and wondered how they did it! It is so, so easy.



1 medium zucchini
1/2 packet feta
1/3 cup plain flour
1/3 cup breadrumbs
1 egg
chopped eschallots
chopped herbs - sage, parsley, thyme

Grate zucchini and mix with egg, eschallots, herbs and chopped feta.  Stir in flour and breadcrumbs. Should be just dry enough to form into balls. Add more breadcrumbs if necessary.
Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer.
Form balls then roll in extra breadcrumbs. Fry until golden brown and crispy on the outside.
Drain on paper towels.

Enjoy with hot sauce or aioli.

These take about 10 minutes, are easy and actually work, so enjoy.