Busy Week So Far... And It's Not Over!

I've had a very busy week so far and it's only Wednesday.  Over the weekend, it poured rain, but I made it to Mum and Dad's place to stay for a few days.  
On Sunday, I settled in, opened the house up a little, then it became really cold and I jumped online there, found it didn't work as well as it could have.  So, I downloaded Mozilla Firefox and then everything worked.  Before Dad gets back, I'll be uninstalling it off his computer so he doesn't fuss.  
Anyway, I made dinner that night and a shopping list for the next day (as I found there wasn't much in the way of what I normally ate here at home there) and then watched a few hours of 'Angel' and went to bed at around midnight.  However, I didn't get much sleep.  Some Indians from up the cul-de-sac opposite walked to the corner across the road and stood there smoking, talking and making phone calls for half an hour until I called out to move it along that they had woken me up.  I was polite about it and they apologised and didn't do it again.
On Monday, I was out the door early to walk to Woolworths to pick up a few things so I could stay there.  I also picked up a large 900gram tin of chocolates for the Queen Beez Craft Group.  Seeing I couldn't spend Mother's Day with my Mum, I thought to give back to the ladies who I spent my afternoon with that day.  But there were a few showers between the time I left the house and my arrival to the community centre up the road.  And what an afternoon!  We totally enjoyed ourselves chatting and laughing.  A lady sat next to me who's also has Epilepsy, but hers showed up when she went through menopause while I was born with mine.  She was lovely and good with jokes and laughed a lot.  Another two ladies and us talked for the whole time while we did our thing.  And my tin of chocolates went down a right treat too!  Everyone loved them.  I did come home with them though.
When I arrived home, I sat down at the computer and spent the next 3 hours from 3:10pm - 6pm writing.  I had signed up for a Writing Race on Facebook, so did my race at a time that suited me.  It was great fun and I enjoyed it, seeing it got me through chapter 3 of book 4 of Fry Nelson easily.  Then, I spent Monday night at my parents' house and I ate a nice stir-fry I made there.  Then watched 'Supernatural' on their massive television (I've never seen it on a huge television before and it was lots of fun!).  Anyway, after that, I washed up, closed up the house and turned on the computer; as it was still very early, and got back into my writing until almost midnight when I turned off the computer and went to bed.
Tuesday morning was spent running around packing all my stuff away.  I also made the bed, put everything I had brought with me into my backpack, throwing out food that was off in the bin and then checking the mail and paying a few things for Mum.  By the time the cab arrived and I got home, I realised I forgot to take out the rubbish!  Oops!  Well, I'll be back there on Friday afternoon to spend the weekend there until Monday or Tuesday afternoon before coming back home.  But before I left, I grabbed some meat out of the fridge and went out the back door to where I spotted two Magpies strutting around the yard.  They both began to climb the steps as they sang... the next thing I knew, I had seven birds gathered around me all vying for food.  Beeper was there next to me and so was a few others who ate right out of my fingers and one sitting right on my knee!  Before long, I ran out of food and they just stood around looking at me.  I showed my empty hands and stood and went inside, closing the door.  As I did, they all flew away, knowing I'd be back soon enough to feed them again.  
Now, I'm back home, I'm kinda relieved to be here.  I don't like being away from my own things for long as I know where everything is, I like my own kitchen, enjoy my own stereo system and like how I know how my entertainment system works too (which is a lot easier than how my folks' one works).  Anyway, I'm back over there tomorrow or Friday, I've yet to make up my mind.  I've got things to do here.  Until my next post, take care keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.       

Happy Mother's Day!

Today, I'm at my parents' house, but they're on holidays; so I'm here on my own.  Mum and Dad took a few days' break to Far North Queensland... and this break went over Mother's Day.  So, this is our first time where we all will be apart on this day (I think; as I don't remember this happening before). 

Anyway, my week has been really busy before this, and so I haven't had time to write here for the last few days.  Since last Wednesday, I've been doing laundry, washing up, tidying up, finding books as I go and figuring out what to bring here to my folks' house while they're not here.  Yep, I'm house sitting again.  It's not exactly everything I want to do, but I've been able to bring along a few things before I arrived so I don't have to lug a massive suitcase with me today... at least that's something.

But today, the weather just wasn't on my side.  I had planned to be here this morning - before lunch actually - but I really was put off by the rain.  So, there I was with all my laundry done, the washing up all done, the counters all clean, the feeder in the fish tank for the fishies, and I was ready and packed... and I was stuck!  I had packed clothes and my art gear for tomorrow and some books to get my nose into for the next day or so, and some writing material too, and I looked outside to find it absolutely pouring at 10am.  So, I waited it out for 2 hours; and once there was a half hour break in the weather, I got myself packed up and ready to head out, called a cab and rushed out to the front gate, where the cab showed up within a few minutes.  And by the time we arrived here at my folks' house, clouds were coming over... now it's overcast again.  I got here just in time for the cool to settle in and the rain to arrive for tonight.

What I'm really looking forward to is getting back to my place where I have a Pumpkin, Walnut and Spinach Cannelloni waiting for me in the fridge on Tuesday or Wednesday night... yummo!  I won't have to cook anything, just bung it into the oven and heat it for 35 minutes with a bit of water.  How delicious is that?  

So, that was today's things... and last weeks'... I've also been out at the Logan Art Gallery yesterday where I was offered up a workshop to attend where it would help me turn my hobby into a business.  There were around 40 people there to listen to accountants, lawyers and other business people who told us the secrets to getting ourselves into the business world... and you know, it's not that hard.  Brian Tucker, an artist who is an accountant by trade, told us that once we want to see a bottom line and begin selling our wares to people and not give them away, that's when we become aware that our hobby is becoming a business.  It was something that struck home with me as I've never given away anything of mine that I've shown to people; I've always sold my artworks.  The first paintings I sold were bought for $15 each.  I don't know where they are now, but the people who bought them loved them.  
The lawyer, John Kenny, was great in letting us know about the legalities of Intillectual Property; who owns our works, and who commissions our works and what happens with copywright and trademarks and how to go about getting them the right ways.  He gave a very interesting speech.  However, he nearly didn't make it to the gallery as he had never been to Logan City; and I gave him directions over the phone to the place.  When he arrived he said they were very specific and he was so happy I was there talking to him through the traffic of Logan as it was very confusing to him; especially the road markings.  John also stuck around and bought something for his wife for Mother's Day as well from the Gallery Store and I gift-wrapped it for him too.  

This brings me to today.  A busy little lot of days where I've ended up somewhere else besides where I normally would be.  But life wouldn't be life without the unexpected happening, would it?  Well, until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.   

Mid-Week

It's another Wednesday, another pay day, another shopping day to fill the house with food and groceries.  I was woken from a nice doze at 7am by the rubbish truck this morning and people running out with their bins to line them up (I had put mine out last night).  So, I snuggled under my duvet and went back to sleep as the truck grumbled closer to my house and under my bedroom window... yeah it has to come right up to the front window of my place to collect the ten or so bins.  Not a great wake-up call when it's cold and in the middle of Winter.  But I've lived here for a decade and have sometimes slept through the whole bin collection noises.

But today, I had a lot to do.  I had the pet store to go to pick up some 4-day feeders for the fish and a pump.  This is because the fish tank pump isn't looking great... it seems to be barely moving the water, so last Friday I bought some anti-algae stuff, but it hasn't worked.  And once I pulled apart some of the pump today, when I got home, I thought that it might be a fungus that's bundging it up.  So, I'll see what happens with an anti-fungus stuff; and if that doesn't work?  Well, I'll install the new pump and take out the old one, and remove the lid and put a glass lid on top.  I have just checked on the tank (it's been about 3 hours) and it's starting to move water more, but I'm sure I need the anti-fungal stuff in the water to help it clean better.

Otherwise, today, I got in and did my shopping with my shopping list on my iPod and got everything I needed on it; well, almost.  I didn't get the Nivea soap as Coles didn't have it; and yet they have everything else to do with Nivea.  Strange how that happens.  I got an all-natural shampoo and conditioner.  And while at Coles, the sample lady, Val was away from her post for a bit, and the meatballs she was cooking were beginning to burn.  So, I turned a few of them over and around.  When she came back, she was amazed somebody didn't just let them burn - and even more amazed I turned them as I'm vegetarian.  Smiling I said that I can still cook meat for anyone I have visiting for dinner.  She was so happy I do that for people; and that I know what burning meat smells like.

But today, I got home early with plenty of money in my pocket from my shopping trip.  I managed to keep over $50 spare.  However, I still have to buy fruit and veggies tomorrow morning and then I'll see how much I have left over then; and I'll be able to work with it for the next few weeks.  Then it won't be long before I'm being looked after by Mum for a week and before that I'll be getting my new bedroom suite.  However, I'll fill you guys in on what's happening in about a week or so about Mum staying here.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.   

Cooking By Numbers

Cooking is a big part of my life - it's a big part of my family's life too.  However it's amazing how much times have changed since I learned to cook up my first pikelet on Mum's old Chef stove here at Springwood when I was 9 years old.  We made them from scratch with eggs, milk, sugar and self-raising flour.  However, if you asked a young child today of the same today to help cook in the kitchen today, they'd head straight for the microwave.

Today's society has made it so that nobody can survive these days without package foods inundating our lives.  This is not a good thing and makes us very dependent on taking home excess packing home from the supermarkets.  Children today don't know where fruit and vegetables come from anymore.  And when you buy you frozen veggies, they seem to think the frozen section of the supermarket is where those veggies come from.  Now, there's people out there who will deny this, but I've heard children say this while out shopping; and have been shocked to find they don't have clue about where their food comes from exactly; not even their meat.  Sure it comes from a butcher, but before that, they don't realise it comes from a farm.

Another example I've witnessed recently, which shocked me was only a few weeks ago while I was out shopping at Coles at Logan Central.  There's a lady there, Val, who is the lady who does all the sample foods and cooking near the deli and butchers.  She runs around Coles and uses all their products to show you can make great meals at a low price by using their brochures and recipes.  It's a great way of marketing their products.  Well, on this particular shopping day of mine, she had made chicken and veal meatballs and was putting some pickles with them... people were finding them delicious!  Me? Well, I'm vegetarian, but they did smell wonderful!  Anyway, she turned to see a young man standing in front of her stall looking at the meatballs and he asked how long they took to cook, she told him about the recipe and then he asked which packet they came in.  She stood there stunned, and asked again... he asked which packet they came in.  She said none, that she had made them from the butchers and handed him the recipe.  He glanced at it and said if he had to actually handle it and it couldn't be put into the microwave it wasn't worth it.  She told me she was digusted about what he had told her, I said that's advertising for ya, it's warped people's minds and it's the reason why I don't own a microwave and never will.  Not five minutes later, I came across the same man with his girlfriend chatting a few isles over and he told her about what happened at the stall, she turned to him and said that not all things come in packets and yes, she'd have to make the meatballs by hand.  He just stared at her blankly as though he had never considered this.

Microwaves were invented a long time ago... this is fantastic.  But why?  Okay, my folks got one but we only cooked in it a few times before we realised it's not designed for cooking.  It turns things into rubber, makes eggs and baked beans explode and gives everything a horrible tasteless texture.  Now, we mainly use it to reheat our tea, put on a timer for cooking something in the gas oven or it just sits there keeping the time of day for us.  So, why do companies insist that it's a good thing to use to cook in?  Uncle Toby's says it's great to cook your oats in (hey, it only takes 90 seconds!) so it must be good for something like that to taste like cardboard when you've got a stove not that far away and it only takes another 2 minutes longer to cook it there.  To cook oats this way is lazy, inconvenient and causes children to not learn to cook correctly.  
I understand that times have to change.  However, when our children grow up and they go out into the world, they will have to take off the blinders and rose coloured glasses and learn to cook proper meals for themselves and not microwave everything they can lay their hands on.  For one thing, it's not healthy.  Microwaves dry out food and they remove a whole lot of nutrients from the food we need to survive.  And the sooner our children learn to cook properly, the better their survival skills for the outside world they will have.    

Pumpkin, Walnut & Spinach Cannelloni

As promised, I'm adding in the recipe for this wonderful cannelloni.  I learned to make this at Brighton while I was staying at my brother's house while I house sat for two weeks.  It was great to learn something new.

Ingredients:

Half a medium pumpkin chopped into tiny pieces.
Half a cup of finally chopped walnuts
Half a cup of baby spinach - wilted in 3 tablespoons of water and squeezed out.
Grated cheese and Parmesan cheese
Cannelloni shells
One bottle of Passatta sauce

Method:

Put the pumpkin into a baking tray with a drizel of olive oil and season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 30 minutes on 180C.  Once it's finished, put the soft, cooked pumpkin into a heat-proof bowl with the chopped walnuts, the spinach roughly chopped up and mix it well.  Get out a long casserole dish and the cannelloni shells and - with a teaspoon, spoon the mixture into the shells until you fill the dish.  You might have to pile them on top of each other as a second layer - don't worry if you you, it's all going to be nice and hot and delicious anyway.
Now, get out a large saucepan and put the passata sauce into it - wash out the bottle and get the dregs out of it to add to the pot.  Then, chop up a clove of garlic, add some parsley and a pinch of basil and half a tablespoon of sugar (to cut the acidity of the tomatoes in the sauce) and put it on the stove to simmer for a few minutes.  Stir and wait until it starts to bubble just a little; and then it's ready.  Pour the whole lot over the stuffed cannelloni shells (now it'll look like you've drowned them, you have, but some of this will evaporate).  Then, grate the cheese (I use tasty cheese) and sprinkle only about a cup over the top and shake a light shower of Parmesan cheese over the top of that.  And then?  Put this dish into the oven for an hour on 180C.

It serves 6 - 8 people when you put a salad with it.  I eat it on its own... very nice!

You can stuff cannelloni shells with anything really.  Experiment, have fun... I was told by an Italian lady in Coles the other week that so long you have the herbs right, you can make your cannelloni any way you want with anything you want and your family will love it!  Enjoy!        

Early Start

This morning, I was up at around 7am... well, okay, I was dozing but not physically up and around.  My bed and was nice and warm and it was cold out.  Seeing I was in a rare comfy spot in my bed, I didn't really want to get out of it too soon.  But off went my 7:30am alarm and I was out of the nice warm covers of my feather duvet and into the bathroom for a hot shower to wake up - to try to anyway!
Today, I was being picked up by my folks to house sit for the day - and dog mind too.  They were asked to mind Mindy, a friend's dog who is the kindest, most wonderful and quietest dog I've ever come across.  Mindy is a lovely dog who follows anyone around who she knows.  She's a darling pooch and she enjoys being patted, going for long, long walks and literally shakes with joy when it comes to having a ball thrown around the yard!  Her back legs shake like jelly and she almost wiggles herself into a sitting position, she's so eager to go after that ball!  Such a wonderful dog... and she looks for people who have left the house and are supposed to come back.  A wonderful intelligent dog to be around.  But she's so quiet I'm forgetting she's around as she's sleeping a lot.

Today, though I brought along a lot of stuff to keep myself occupied.  There's my Crafty Pegs things that I've brought with me.  This includes an extra set of painting clothes - so my good clothes don't get messed up with acrylic paint - and so I brought along my usual craft gear.
Then, I brought along my preparations for dinner:  Pumpkin and Walnut Cannelloni.  What a delicious meal!  I've started looking into perfecting this dish as it's so lovely to create! I'll add the recipe to this dish in a separate post today - it sounds complex, but once you get into the swing of working it, it's so very simple.  And if your family isn't big on pumpkin, you can fill the cannelloni shells with anything really; so long you have the right herbs to go with your meal and time to do it (as it takes around 2 hours out of your afternoon to prepare).
And for tonight's entertainment, I brought along my box set of 'Angel' watch - just in case my folks aren't home in time.  However if they are, I'll take it home and watch it there instead.  And we'll be eating all the cannelloni together.  Very cool.. I hope they like it; as they're out today for a very long day out at my brother's house for a working bee there and will be very tired... and I'm sure this dinner will be something they will look forward to when they arrived home.

Otherwise, I'm hoping to get some writing and editing done and some reading of one of the books I've been looking at next to my bed lately:  'The Wastelands' by Stephen King - one of the books from his 'Dark Tower' series.  I've missed reading it; and really do look forward to reading the others of it and getting it finished over the next year or so; as I've got a few other book series' I'd like to get my nose into once I've finished this one.  Well, what are you all up to over the weekend in your part of the world?  Do please leave a comment and let us all know.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember I'm always here.