Spring Has Come!

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September marks the beginning of Spring in the southern hemisphere. We have had a very wet winter in Western Australia so I’ve been a bit late planting out annuals, but the petunia seedlings above, Dreams White, have been planted under the lime tree in the front courtyard. They have settled in well and are growing.

These violas are in the portico so I have to take them in and out but once they are in bloom they last for months.

We are off on another trip in a few weeks so have begun collecting books. My pile is on the left. I’ve been sick in bed for two days this week, so raided my pile and read Janine Marsh’s My Good Life In France. Really enjoyed it. She has a blog, too and talks about moving to France, buying property, renovating, dealing with bureaucracy, eating, travelling and generally enjoying every aspect of “La Belle France”. A good read.

Kirstie Clements,  author of The Vogue Factor, rose from the reception desk at Australian Vogue to the Editor’s chair. This is an account of that journey. Along the way she meets famous designers and celebrities, visits exotic places, becomes the mother of twins and learns everything there is to know about publishing an iconic fashion magazine. I’m really enjoying it.

Hanna’s daughter is my new book club book, so I have only read the blurb on the back. I only got it this afternoon. Let me know if you’ve read it and tell me what you thought!

Gathering the ingredients to make Coriander Beef Curry. It was very good and lasted two meals. Aromatic with layers of flavour, we will make it again.

Went out to pick some lettuce and found them eaten to the soil. Not happy and not sure what has eaten them. Our limes are growing well and taste very good. I’ve begun planting tomatoes. Picking spinach, chilies and spring onions.

Today is Concussion Awareness Day. Concussion can be a serious issue, usually happens during sport and can have serious repercussions. The best treatment is to rest but if someone loses consciousness, even for a moment, you need to seek medical advice.

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How To Marble With Water-based Inks

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Marbling is a method of decorating paper by floating water-based inks on water, swirling the inks, pressing on the paper and removing it to dry. Traditionally oil based paints were used but I prefer prints which are easy to fold and glue, not rigid and thick like oil based prints.

I use marbled paper for the frontpiece and backpiece of my journals. I use Japanese water-based inks from an art supply shop and  printer paper. I used to use litho paper but prefer printer paper now.

Collect your materials:

  • water-based inks
  • a stirrer
  • rubber gloves
  • paper to fit your journal (I use sheets of A4 printer paper)
  • an appropriate sized sink/bowl of water

Drizzle inks onto the water and stir. I select colours to suit the paper used to cover the journal. You can created a darker pattern by increasing the intensity of the ink.

Smooth the paper over the ink making sure the paper surface is completely touching the water. Print two in similar colours for the front and back.

Remove and lay flat to dry. Usually I leave them outside where the prints dry very quickly but it’s raining today. This print looks streaky as it took a long time to photograph.

The paper needs trimming to fit the pages so I lay it out where it fits on the cover and the press the printed paper over the page edge creating a fold to show where to cut. You can see the fold to the right of the image.

 

Using the gluestick, put glue all over the surface to be covered and starting from the fold in the middle smooth down the marbled paper until it is flat and smooth. That’s the frontpiece done, now do the back!

Next week I’ll show you how to make the elastic holder which keeps everything I need on the journal, ready to go.

Today is Assistance Dog Day. There are many kinds of assistance  dogs: guide dogs, hearing alert dogs, seizure alert dogs and other medical alert dogs. Very clever dogs.

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How I Cover My Journals

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For more than twenty years I have written in a journal every day. Before that I kept travel journals, house building and decorating journals and a pregnancy journal. too.

My favourite giftwrap is no longer available and I have had to find another pattern. A sheet of giftwrap covers a lot of journals. This pattern is by Anna Chandler, a West Australian designer.

The frontpiece and backpiece are marbled paper. I use water based inks to print these.

I glued in this pop-up card from a hotel in Hanoi. Isn’t it clever?

I glue in mementos such as maps, cards, tickets and menus. Mostly I just write about each day and sometimes I draw, too.

This week I’ll show you how to cover the notebook, next week I’ll show you how to marble the front and back papers and finally, I’ll show you how to make the elastic holder for pens and, for me, my reading glasses.

YOU NEED:

  • a journal
  • giftwrap ( strong and glossy wears well)
  • scissors
  • gluestick

These red and black notebooks come from the newsagent. I cover them with my chosen paper, glue in the marbled papers and transfer my elastic holder for pens and my glasses. Everything in one place!

I like these journals as I can leave the red spine uncovered, this works best. I lay the journal on the paper then rule a line about 2cm, or 3/4 inch from the edge of the book. Cut a front and a back.

I use a glue stick to attach the paper. I smooth the paper on, pressing out any bubbles and then sometimes using a wooden ruler to remove any remaining bumps. You can hold the covered book in the light to be sure there are no remaining bubbles. Repeat with other cover.

Open the journal and fold the corner to the edge of the journal, fold back and glue the triangle you have created, then glue it down, pressing the folded triangle along the edge of the front. Do this for each of the four corners, two at the front, two at the back. Then glue down the top, side and bottom.

Don’t worry if the paper is not neat because you’ll be gluing marbled paper inside the front and back covers.

The finished product ready to write in.

Today is World Hepatitis Day. Hepatitis affects the liver. There are five main types: A, B, C, D, E. Hepatitis Day is one of only four official disease specific days declared by the World Health Organisation. Take care!

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Big Pot Cooking

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Picked up these fresh mussels at the fish monger and steamed them in a big pot. I made a traditional liquor of garlic, onion, tomato, a little olive oil plus butter and white wine. Wonderful.

Fresh and full of flavour. Mopped up the remaining liquid with bread!

Made stock in a big pot from four chicken carcasses to leave soup for our son while we were away down south at Margaret River. He doesn’t get home from work until late and it’s dark and the dog needs a walk, so I left soup to heat quickly. The stock was very concentrated and rich and made lovely soup with vegetables, pasta and a tiny touch of curry.

Using another big pot, our son cooked up this delicious pepper steak pie. When the potato is added it goes in the oven for about 30 minutes and is so great! ( Sorry vegetarians ) This pie makes four dinners for three people served with extra vegetables. It’s a family favourite.

My Aunty Marty gave me some orchids when she divided hers years ago and I’ve divided them a few times since. This is the first pot to bloom this year and I have put it on the table where I see it all the time. It is so lovely and a precious memento of her.

Tomorrow is International Chocolate Day. That’s pretty exciting and very easy to celebrate.

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Down South 3. Prevelly

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Prevelly is where the Margaret River meets the ocean. This little church, St John the Theologian, sits alone on the hillside. In 1941 when Geoff Edwards, a West Australian soldier, was evacuated from Crete, he vowed he would honour the Cretans and the Monks of the Holy Monastery of Preveli for saving him and so many other Allied Troops.

He owned this beautiful area on the coastline, which he subdivided. He built the chapel in 1978 as a token of gratitude, helped financially by other returned servicemen and the West Australian Greek Community.

Stark and beautiful, the chapel remembers the Greeks who sheltered, hid and helped the servicemen escape to freedom.

Rugged and pristine coastline with good surf. Lovely swimming beaches and limestone cliffs. This is where Margaret River meets the coast.

Home and cooking with fresh lemons. We have lemons on fish, in dressings, in slices and biscuits. No scurvy here!

Good crop of chilies, too.

Today is Canada Day. Better put some maple syrup on something! I’m thinking waffles.

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Down South 2. Yallingup

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This parrot enjoyed relaxing on the balcony of our apartment in Yallingup, too, and regularly came to visit.

Gorgeous small garden below our apartment.

Yallingup is known for great surf. There are also lots of very good restaurants at the many vineyards, breweries and galleries and a fabulous coastline. The hillside overlooking the beach features some innovative architecture tucked into the natural environment.

Known for its surf, this area has developed a world class, vibrant wine industry since the 1970s. There’s several breweries, too.

Lots of opportunities to buy local produce including baked goods, nougat, chocolate, locally roasted coffee and venison. We ate well!

We bought some venison at the deer farm and our son made this cottage pie. Looking forward to enjoying the other venison we bought and froze. Venison is not common in Western Australia but we really enjoyed it in Norway last year and were keen to try the locally grown meat. Ate some for dinner in Margaret River, too, and it was very, very good. It was char grilled, served on Brussels sprouts and cranberry salad with a pumpkin mousse. Venison is low in cholesterol and high in vitamins and minerals.

Interestingly, deer roaming towns in the UK have become a problem. According to the Daily Mail 26th June, the rising deer population is due to the absence of natural predators and a reduction in hunting and shooting. They are highly fertile and have benefited from changes in agricultural practices resulting in more winter crops and more woodland for cover.

Tomorrow is Meteor Watch Day. Meteors, also known as shooting stars, are the visible streak of light from the heated and glowing meteor falling through the Earth’s atmosphere. If you see one, make a wish!

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Down South 1. Dunsborough

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Lunch in Busselton on our way down south. This is the Busselton Jetty, the longest timber piled jetty in the southern hemisphere. It was built in 1864 and is 1.841 kilometres (1.1 miles) long. Once popular with American whalers, it was also used to export grain and timber. It is only used for tourism and recreation now.

To Dunsborough on Geographe Bay late in the afternoon. This is a beautiful stretch of coastline popular for  swimming and boating.

Dinner at a cafe with a range of beers. Ordered a share plate which included venison shepherd pies, mandarin and beet salad, spring rolls and a great pizza. We couldn’t eat it all! Really tasty, well prepared food, but the venison pies were wonderful. Spelling on the menu not so wonderful!

Really like to relax with a decorator magazine or two. We had a balcony over looking treetops with lots of birds and the sounds of the ocean. It was lovely!

Today is Take Your Dog To Work day. Wish I could, hope you can!

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Kathleen O’Connor, West Australian Artist

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Self portrait, Kathleen O’Connor, part of the On Heads exhibition at the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery.
Kathleen O’Connor (1876 – 1968), daughter of the famous West Australian engineer C.Y.O’Connor, was born in New Zealand but came to WA in 1891, later going to Europe to study Art. She was influenced by the Impressionists but developed her own style. This self portrait is different from so many of her paintings which are vividly coloured and large and bold. My favourite is Afternoon Tea, Paris. Her works hang in national, state and regional galleries.

Another of my favourite Australian artist, Margaret Preston, again on a food theme! This is Thea Proctor’s Tea Party, 1924.

The Bunbury Regional Art Gallery is in the former St Patrick’s Convent. We went to Bunbury especially to see the exhibition.

From the gallery to a cafe on the Back Beach for lunch. Spectacular view. I grew up in this region and this was a favourite swimming beach.

After a long hot summer it is suddenly cool enough to change sandals for espadrilles and even cool enough for a scarf! Love cooler weather clothes.

The 8th of June was World Oceans Day. Please consider using less plastic bags.

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Beautiful Bali (2)

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Innovative and really attractive restaurant interiors, a variety of interesting and well balanced menus, lovely flowers and some gorgeous  crockery add to the pleasure of eating in Bali. Restaurants to meet all price points and always charming service. Love eating in Bali!

Cool breezes and views stretching for miles from the roof terrace at our villa. I like to spot the kites.

My favourite thing to do several times a day is to swim. So relaxing.

Some very tempting shopping. I bought these great tassels and a couple of shirts which are well made and fit well.

Bali is the perfect break! Eat, sleep, swim and explore this lush island.

Tomorrow is Paper Plane Day. Start folding that paper!

 

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Australind and Picnic

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Easter Long Weekend

My Mother’s Chicago Peace rose and her ivy leaf pelargonium which is a beautiful deep purple. We spent a lovely day with her in Australind.

Louis, our Groodle.

Picnic in the park with friends on Sunday. It was a lovely afternoon.

This covered tray is very good for picnics.

Did you know it was World Heritage Day yesterday?

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