ALL THE WAY TO BARGO!!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." 

Galatians 6:9 NIV

 

 The last couple of weeks have been really busy. Tutoring and preparing for tutoring keeps me very busy, but it is very rewarding. I tutor a variety of students, most of them have some sort of reading difficulty.

 Because of limited time and finances  Peter and I have decided to explore some of the places closer to home. So we spent a weekend at Bargo - only 40 minutes away, on top of the mountain. Powered sites at the local caravan park were very reasonable at $28 per night.

We visited Wirrimbirra, a funny old nature reserve not far from Bargo. There were lots of swamp wallabies but not much else.....

......except for a couple of grey kangaroos........

 .......and a couple of emus....

But leasing land on Wirrimbirra was Bargo Dingo Sanctuary, 
which was really fascinating.
The Dingo Sanctuary is a public education facility for Dingoes and their preservation, run by the Australian Native Dog Conservation Society.

The Dingoes all had names and varied in personalities.

We learned that as well as the usual brown Dingoes there are also black Dingoes. 

We visited Thirlmere railway museum and took a ride to Buxton in an old diesel.

There were quite a few steam engines to see.

Below is the end of a carriage on an early mail train.

Last week I couldn't resist taking this photo of sunset over the mountains viewed from Peter's place.

I just posted some Fimo toadstools for sale on Platypus Creations 1.

I love making these.

 

My lovely friend Michelle, makes beautiful dolls and creatures from socks. Go over to Platypus Creations 1 and check them out.

Interesting sites

1.

Round houses suitable for hurricane areas

Photo source

Round houses seem to survive better in hurricanes.
Click here to check this out




2.

Tokyo Nights

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Photographer captures the bewitching, neon beauty of Tokyo on a dark rainy night.
Click to see more.

3. 

 How does a defibrillator work?

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Learn how a defibrillator works.
Click here.

DECEMBER - MY FAVOURITE MONTH

 Don’t slip into mediocrity by living your life based solely on popular opinion.

Joshua Becker

I love December. It is my favourite month. I love Christmas and everything to do with it. For various reasons most of my family don't. For one family member it is a link with sadness in the past. For another it is the fact that our family is broken and we won't all be together as in times past. And for one it is just the total stress of so much socializing. A bit sad really - but I don't let it stop me - and luckily my Mum likes Christmas so I have at least one ally. P:-) enjoys Christmas.
 

December 1st and I have chosen my branch in the backyard that I will use for a Christmas tree. This is a tradition going back many years. P:-) thinks it is a bit odd. For a few years we had a big artificial green tree when my younger daughter R asked for a ' real plastic tree like everybody else.'

 

So far my branch has a single bird on it.

I couldn't resist this pretty bargain priced bird when shopping for craft supplies.  I plan to trim my tree in silver, gold and white.

Summer is the time for Jacarandas and my Jacaranda tree has laid a carpet of purple flowers in my backyard.

The purple contrasts nicely with the green of the garden plants.


My daughter R has been painting these beautiful shells for presents and I am hoping I may end up with some for Christmas.

And I can't resist adding this kookaburra we spotted at P:-)'s place, perched on the wires looking for prey in the grass below.

Heart Lamb and Lentil Soup

We enjoyed this soup last night. Every time I cook a leg of lamb I put the bone in the freezer until I am ready to make this soup. It means you can use every scrap of meat and the soup makes 3 meals for P:-) and me. It is very economical and makes one leg of lamb do quite a few meals.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large or 2 small onions

1 large carrot

2 cloves crushed garlic

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

450 gram tin chopped tomatoes

1 1/2 cups dried soup mix

left over lamb bone with a small amount of scrap meat on it

6 cups water

4 teaspoons stock powder

Method

1.    Heat oil in pan.

2.    Whizz carrot and onion in food processor and add to oil. Stir for 3 minutes.

4.    Add garlic and paprika and stir 1 minute.

5.    Add tin tomatoes and stir.

6.    Add soup mix and lamb bone.

7.    Add water and stock powder.

8.    Simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours until rich and thick.

9.    Remove bone and remove meat from bone.

10. Chop meat finely add to soup and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Makes 6 serves.
Freezes well.

I began writing this blog to help me look at the positives in my life. Since I enjoy December I am going to try to write a few more posts this month. So keep an eye out.

Love this tree!!

Interesting sites

1 .

A lot of Tiny Houses

Photo source

Click here to checkout a whole lot of Tiny Houses .


2.

 Wooden Beetle exterior

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71-year-old Bosnian retiree Momir Bojic has crafted a completely wooden Volkswagen beetle exterior from over 50,000 pieces of hand-carved oak.Click here to read more.


3.

 Use Chemistry to solve everyday problems

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Regardless of how you feel about chemistry class, you’re putting chemical reactions to use in your life all the time. Knowing just a bit more about how these reactions work can make many things in life just a little easier, and a new YouTube series produced by the American Chemical Society promises to help you use chemistry to solve everyday problems. Click here to read more. 

A TRIP TO DAVIS TOWN

P:-) and I spent a week at Davistown near Gosford. P:-)'s family and extended family have owned an old house there for over a hundred years and it has finally been sold. We camped in the back yard. Below is the old house.

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the house taken from across the water at Empire Bay. It is the house with the green roof.

 

Below is the view we see from our camp, across the water to Empire Bay.

We camp in the back yard with electricity provided by P:-)'s cousin next door.

I made a new awning for one of the bed ends and was quite pleased with the way it turned out.

A nest of ducklings hatched in the garden. There are wild ducks all around the place and they wander in and out of the yards.

We found the empty shells left and then spotted the mother and her ducklings.

 

To start with the ducklings would stay very close - bunched up against their mother.

 

After a day or so the little ducklings seemed to get a lot braver, still staying close to their mother but scattering out a little.

An evening walk led to a beautiful sunset.

Smoke from burning off at Kincumber enhanced the orange sky.



We took a drive to MacMaster's  Beach and stopped at this lookout on the way back.

 You can see Palm Beach in the distance.


I couldn't resist  including this collage of photos taken in the back yard,

We had a lovely, relaxing few days. But finally had to pack up for home.

 

An inquisitive  stick insect came along and landed on my craft supplies waiting to be packed, to check out what was going on. Maybe he wanted to come but I flicked him away before he was swallowed up in the van.

While we were away I spent time making a felt name for P:-)'s grand-daughter Isabel for her birthday. (It is more readable when it is vertical.)

Isabel loves butterflies.

We are in the process of planning another quick trip to Davistown before the business is finished. So next post should have some more from Davistown.




Interesting sites

1.

 Could you live in a Tiny House?

Photo source

 Motivated by soaring house prices, you’ll-be-paying-it-off-until-you-die mortgages and environmental concerns – plus the realisation that the bigger your house is, the longer it takes to clean – there’s a new generation of home-owners who are doing something radically different. Building tiny houses, that are small enough to be towed along by a car. They have wheels, which means you can take your tiny house anywhere with you (while also complying with zoning regulations). Click here to read more. 

2.

 Footbinding in China

Photo source

The practice of foot binding, which was banned in China in 1911 but carried on until women had the bandages forcibly removed, results in feet that are disfigured for life as the toes are broken beneath the soles of the feet. Photographer Jo Farrell is on a mission to photograph a dying fragment of Chinese culture: foot binding. Click here to read more. 

3.

 Budapest Christmas Tram

Photo source

 In 2009 the Budapest Transport Company started a beautiful festive tradition of covering some of its trams in LEDs. But the beautiful appearance of these glittering vehicles is not the only thing that delights the locals. During the Christmas season, anyone with a regular ticket or public transport travel pass can ride the Christmas trams, which makes them a fun and budget-friendly way of getting around Budapest.Click here  to read more.