A Mystery Foot.

At one of the recent antique fair I stumbled upon (and bought) a Singer surprise box. At least that's how the guy selling it had labelled it, clearly knowing nothing about its contents except that they related to a Singer sewing machine.

An Unfortunate Encounter - Bad Service

One of the writing exercises of the playwriting group I attend was to write a quick 10 minute monologue based on one of two themes; 'Knife Fight' or 'Bad Service'. 

Unlike a previous topic where nothing had sprung to mind, here I was instantly reminded of my delightful experiences with a tour guide in St Paul's. As a tour guide her job revolved around customer service, otherwise no one would have been on her tours, and yet as someone who was not a customer but was still affected by her service, I was immensely displeased. And so in my response to her actions, I felt justified. 

I doubt there are many who did what I did, but I'm sure there are many who would have been as irritated. This is just the well structured verbalisation of that irritation. 

Beach Shack Renovation Four

My aunt then decided that since the new furniture (and antique fridge (which weighed a tonne and was difficult to move)) was scratching the floors and lifting the grey paint, in the communal kitchen/living room we needed a new floor covering. Something like laminate floor boards.
A more sensible (cheaper) suggestion of lino was made and as lino now comes in a range of styles and patterns we were able to find one that suited the style and colour scheme of the room.

So one bright Sunday morning my uncle and I got to work installing it. When it's substantially larger than the room in all directions and tears easily, we made the executive decision to remove the 'key decision makers' from the visual vicinity so we could lay it in peace and do what was necessary to squeeze it into the corners and remove the excess. The last thing we needed was them pointing out where it was ripping, stressing if a rip got too close to the important bit...

Cape Naturaliste

Bunker Beach

The beauty of the South-West is something of which I am always aware, and yet I find myself undertaking very few opportunities to actually head down and enjoy it.

Caramelised Onion and Cheese Muffins

As is only to be expected, the original recipe has been adapted... more than once

Originally there were just caramelised onion muffins.
Then they became caramelised onion and cheese muffins.
Today, they transformed again into chutney and cheese muffins.

So here goes...

Reproducing a Plum and Star Anise Jam (and Fruit Leather)

Somewhere, somehow we ended up with a jar of plum jam in our pantry. It was beautiful, rich and with the surprise ingredient of star anise.
And unfortunately there was only one jar and we had no idea where it came from.
You see, the problem is that Dad occasionally buys jars of interesting jam at fêtes and rota-marts, and various family and friends make preserves of their own and gift jars at Christmas or whenever we run out of a necessary product.

So when I saw a cheap box of plums, I decided the easiest way to get more plum and Star anise jam was simply to make it.

That and fruit leather. After all, I did have about 8 kg of plums to pit and dice.

Beach Shack Renovation Three

With 12 family members having access to the shack (two currently living in Berlin), it seemed sensible to streamline Granddad's amount of furniture and have more than a main bed and two hideous foam mattresses.
We decided on a Queen bed in the main bedroom, a double bunk in the second bedroom and a sofa bed in the living room.

The new furniture was bought as part of yet another shopping spree by my mother and aunt, but it was left to other members of the family to assemble it.

...and the three year old to test its possibilities as a tent by hanging a sheet from the upper bed over the lower one.

It was decided that she was too young for the top bunk and yet too clever at climbing up the ladder by herself, and so the rungs were removed for the time being.



To compliment the very colourful curtains, make the most of the opportunity to do some interior decorating with vibrancy as opposed to the whites and off-whites with which most people decorate their houses, and add vibrancy to what is essentially a summer beach shack, we went with the most outrageous sheets for the beds.

 

The discussion of what to do with the kitchenette unit was lengthy, though as one of the two decision makers insisted on keeping it, the suggestions of the rest of us are virtually unheard. It's currently getting a new paint job and a patch up as the green and cream no longer goes with the decor.

In the kitchen we decided on a buffet unit for more storage (can never have too much storage) with a smaller under-bench fridge. 

The former was put together from flat pack (like the rest of the furniture) while the fridge was an amazing bargain buy from Ebay. 

Beach Shack Renovation One
Beach Shack Renovation Two

Beach Shack Renovation Four

An Open Garden plan

Just the other weekend, Mum and I disappeared off to Fremantle to check out a private garden opened to the public as part of Open Gardens Australia.

An indecipherable recipe - Baton Sale/Salty Biscuits

At that time of the year when Kahk and Cornetti made their appearance at Granddad's, a form of savoury biscuits also appeared. My sister and I would eat them, but they weren't the thing we'd make a bee line for. 

Instead they were left for Mum, solid savoury sticks with cumin seeds mixed throughout that she would nibble on, as happily as we would devour the Kahk.