tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407932312919814442024-03-14T16:40:16.113+11:00katiecrackernutsKate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comBlogger1030125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-38553834102600241072020-12-27T15:09:00.005+11:002021-11-13T17:26:43.340+11:00I'VE DONE IT... DECEMBER 2020 AND BEYONDI did a calculation on the leave I've taken over the past couple of years and it came out at three weeks.<div><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7TkxFzSbu-0/X-gHK7ptJzI/AAAAAAAAHmc/Fy66J1pcefsh5HDXZgkJ6fDHudpd9HbFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/small_DSC_0197_edited.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pink flowers of Australian native Christmas bush against a green bush background" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7TkxFzSbu-0/X-gHK7ptJzI/AAAAAAAAHmc/Fy66J1pcefsh5HDXZgkJ6fDHudpd9HbFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/small_DSC_0197_edited.jpg" title="Pink flowers of Australian native Christmas bush against a green bush background" /></a></div><br />One week was planned time off work and the other two were in lieu of overtime. When I crunched the numbers - while waiting for a coffee last week and pondering why I was so very tired (could I have COVID-19) - I deduced the lethargy was because in 20 months I'd had one planned week of leave. Wowsers.<br /><br />Sure, I've had a day here and there to make up overtime worked but it's not the same as dedicated time to rest and recuperate. Neither's the forced staycation of COVID-19 restrictions. It's been wonderful to bookend the day with cups of tea, a potter in the garden, a walk or after-work swim, but there are still email notifications and to-do lists and priorities, projects and team members to guide through change and challenges.<br /><br />With Christmas looming I found myself wishing I'd booked a couple of weeks leave. It'll be fine, the beach is a short drive away and you already live in a holiday destination, I told myself. Others need the leave more, I said. It'll be so much quieter than last year, I convinced. Others have had a much worse year, I chastised. But here I am, grateful for a handful of public holidays and ready to add a second week to a week booked for the end of February.<br /><br />In the meantime, I'm still reading and making where I can, but I'll be wrapping up the writing of a blog. Like so many before me, I've made the decision to log off from this little space.<br /><br />What was once a creative outlet for a busy working parent, with a supportive community of similarly time-poor creatives, home cooks, gardeners, knitters op shoppers and lovers of vintage feels now like a chore of digital marketing, channel plans and content schedules - none of which I did anyway. I've moved to the places other bloggers moved to and you'll still find me on <a href="https://draft.blogger.com/#"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>Instagram</b></span></a> (probably never on Tik Tok) and the blog will remain archived here: I can't bear to kill it off entirely and you never know, I may come back to it one day.<br /><br />If you've stopped by, read a blog post or two, commented even, thank you. Without you the blog would never have been anything but a digital diary. For me it's been that and so much more.<br /><br />To wrap up the year, and the blog, here's what I did in December.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I WENT TO...</b></span> the beach, the ocean pool and nearby national parks. Thank goodness for all that lovely open space.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I OP SHOPPED...</b></span> not at all. I can't even recall being in one this month. <br /><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I READ...</b></span> Helena Fox's debut young adult novel <a href="https://draft.blogger.com/#"><i><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>How It Feels To Float</b></span></i></a>. Don't let the YA genre put you off. This story captures the weight of grief and sharp light of hope that can carry one through. I also read Kate Grenville's <a href="https://draft.blogger.com/#"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;"><i>The Lieutenant</i></span></b></a>, following the story of Dawes, imagined by Grenville and based on the shards of what we know and Grenville has meticulously researched. If you've read <i>A Room Made of Leaves</i>, or have it on your summer reading list, this is the perfect companion read.<br /><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b><br />I MADE...</b></span> apricot curd, apricot jam, poached apricots, poached plums, plum sauce, pavlovas, lemon curd, <a href="https://draft.blogger.com/#"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">ricciarelli</span></b></a>: all the Christmas gift-giving goodies.Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-27662358108739936342020-11-29T15:12:00.004+11:002020-11-29T15:15:56.593+11:00I'VE DONE IT... NOVEMBER 2020<p>
We don't have air-conditioning and I am not going to lie, the heatwave
conditions of the last weekend saw me waver.
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0kRlbrjFW5g/X8MQCg9BQRI/AAAAAAAAHlc/B3AufAvCHVYX4m8AeJnASDfi2nZPu6XWQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/mourad-saadi-n0BFbPF_szM-unsplash.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0kRlbrjFW5g/X8MQCg9BQRI/AAAAAAAAHlc/B3AufAvCHVYX4m8AeJnASDfi2nZPu6XWQCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/mourad-saadi-n0BFbPF_szM-unsplash.jpg" /></a>
</div>
<p><br /></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">
We added ceiling fans to our modest home in the 2000s thinking 'yeah, that'll
do it', and mostly it did except for the odd sweaty day broken by a southerly
buster. But cue 2019 and 2020 and what we know is the
<a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/Showcase/state-of-the-climate" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>science is being borne out</b></span></a>, and it's freakin' hot.
</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">
So, what do you do if you live without an air-conditioner and you're looking
at working from home through a hot summer, you head to the beach, a lot, and
here's where my snapshot of things I've done this month kicks off. I hope
you're staying cool and hydrated.
</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I WENT TO...</b></span>
the beach and ocean baths all month. It's become a new weekend and after-work
habit to dive under salty, clean water and wash away the heat, the work of the
day and stretch limbs that have spent hours bent over a keyboard. We've lived
here almost 20 years and it's only in the past few that this habit's made it's
way into our days.
</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I OP SHOPPED...</b></span>
I've been picking up spare T-shirts, shorts and dresses for the grandkidlets
who will come and stay through summer. It's good to have spares when tubs of
water, loaded water pistols and evenings watering the garden turn into a nudie
run through a spray otherwise meant for zucchinis, tomatoes and
cucumbers.
</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">I READ...</span></b> Meg
Mason's
<i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/09/sorrow-and-bliss-by-meg-mason-review-an-incredibly-funny-and-devastating-debut" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Sorrow and Bliss</span></b></a></i>. It is everything people say about it. It's beautiful, sad, funny,
whimsical, fraught and crazy. If anything, it wraps up a little too quickly
and neatly. I also read<i>
<a href="https://www.theaureview.com/books/book-review-kate-mildenhalls-the-mother-fault-is-deservedly-one-of-this-years-most-hyped-australian-novels/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">The Mother Fault</span></b></a></i>, for which I'll offer a warning: if you don't wish to know how much worse it
could get beyond natural disasters and a global pandemic, keep it off your
holiday reading list. It's fictional, but the best dystopian fiction always
rolls a little too close to what's plausible, if not possible.
</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">I MADE...</span></b>
<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/sweet-iced-tea" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">sweet iced tea</span></b></a>, which will evolve over the summer to become sweet iced chai with the
addition of cinnamon, cloves and maybe star anise. I'm also going through cook
books to find ways to use what will be a glut of zucchinis. Bread and butter
pickles, made to Stephanie Alexander's simple recipe, have been the go-to.
</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #999999; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@mougrapher?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;"><span style="color: #666666;">Mourad Saadi</span></a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; white-space: nowrap;"><span style="color: #666666;"> </span><span style="color: #999999;">on </span></span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@mougrapher?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;"><span style="color: #666666;">Unsplash</span></a></i></span>
</p>
Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-86097146382328661642020-11-04T20:12:00.003+11:002020-11-29T12:32:03.750+11:00I'VE DONE IT... OCTOBER 2020<p>Sometimes, the most ordinary looking thing, like a rocky path, can be the most extraordinary. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PMc46uPlezo/X6JrYo3259I/AAAAAAAAHkg/RPQzdoXZFdUIn_Y_i9ymcza3xuDYW3LYQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/DSC_0217_small.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A wide rocky foreground with clear blue sky overhead" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PMc46uPlezo/X6JrYo3259I/AAAAAAAAHkg/RPQzdoXZFdUIn_Y_i9ymcza3xuDYW3LYQCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSC_0217_small.jpg" title="Lindsay Rock Tops volcanic lava flow in Mount Kaputar National Park" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was musing on that while walking over this rocky path in Mount Kaputar National Park in northwest NSW. To the untrained eye - mine - it's rocks, but in reality it's the remnants of a lava flow dating <a href="https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/mount-kaputar-national-park/learn-more#08D069354B104558823C6BD617DA988E" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>20 million years ago</b></span></a>. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Blow. Your. Mind. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, maybe not everyone's but it certainly made me marvel at the passage of time, plants, animals and people that have passed over these rocks, and then me. Who, or what, in another 20 million years will be standing here? </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">I WENT TO...</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Narrabri, staying with friends at the lovely </span><a href="https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/5467434" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">The Dewhurst</span></b></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and driving to </span><a href="https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/mount-kaputar-national-park" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Mount Kaputar National Park</span></b></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> to walk the remnants of that 21 million-year-old volcano. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">I OP SHOPPED...</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I wandered into the Vinnies at Wee Waa while we were visiting the state's northwest and picked up a cute tee and even cuter linen embroidered blouse from the 1970s. It's light, cool and feels crisp and clean to wear. In the same store, I also scored </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Marion: Recipes and Stories from a Hungry Cook</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> for a mere $2. As pretty much the only op shop I ventured into all month, it was a pretty neat haul. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">I READ...</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Probably not the best reading for this moment in time, what with the US elections and what feels like a daily new report about the dismal future of the planet, but </span><i style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Moment-of-Truth/Kelly-McKinney/9781682615911" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Moment of Truth: The Nature of Catastrophes and How to Prepare For Them</span></a></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, by disaster and emergency management communicator Kelly McKinney, has significant lessons about being prepared for the very worst (and not assuming it won't happen to you). </span></span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="https://kategrenville.com.au/books/a-room-made-of-leaves/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;">A Room Made of Leaves</span></a></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">, by Kate Grenville, was read as an audio book on the way up to Narrabri. An audio book can sure make a trip go faster and it's sent me off into a 'next book' spiral to learn more about the back stories of other British colonialists. </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/08/girl-woman-other-by-bernardine-evaristo-review" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><i>Girl, Woman, Other</i></span></a></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">, by Bernardine Evaristo, was also an audio book and one where the characters happily followed me, or I them, around my blooming and producing spring garden while I weeded, mulched and planted out new crops. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">I MADE...</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> The chocolate biscuits, or </span><a href="https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/brunsli-chocolate-cookies" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>Brunsli</b></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, from Yotam Ottolenghi's </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Simple</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">. They are very simple and have a delicious Jaffa taste in a gluten and dairy-free brownie-like biscuit. I'm thinking ahead to Christmas gifting and a medley of biscuits may include this in the cut.</span></span></div>Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-6874322510191990582020-10-05T16:26:00.000+11:002020-10-05T16:26:08.192+11:00I'VE DONE IT... SEPTEMBER 2020<p>September's been a slow month. A month of staying close to home, switching soups and toasties for snags and homegrown salads. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-onzMXJCQTYM/X3qpjxKBJ7I/AAAAAAAAHjg/CGYO6GEkL4EGPufVYKFncka97Qab5r9QACLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/DSC_0034_small.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-onzMXJCQTYM/X3qpjxKBJ7I/AAAAAAAAHjg/CGYO6GEkL4EGPufVYKFncka97Qab5r9QACLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/DSC_0034_small.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">There were forays into the bush to see how the rock orchids had got on this year and to marvel at the spring wildflowers. There was an impromptu, after-work fish and chips on the beach. There's been a shaking out of short sleeves from clothes hangers not touched for months. It's been a slow month of watching things emerge from winter hibernation, from lockdowns and the fuzz and fizz of an uncertain world.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I WENT TO...</b></span> Thirroul, on the NSW Coal Coast for a solo weekend of walking, writing, browsing and a lovely morning tea with a friend and her family.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If you're visiting, I recommend <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Blackbird-Thirroul-110724260323934/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Blackbird</span></b></a> for breakfast and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Shahi-Aroma-Indian-Cuisine-606942233014807/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Shahi Aroma</span></b></a> for a dinner. The latter drew me in on the fragrant smell alone. </p><p style="text-align: left;">My friend put me onto <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wombatinthirroul" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Wombat</span></b></a>: a great place for a treasure hunt. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CollinsBooksellersThirroul" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Collins Booksellers Thirroul</span></b></a> is an old-style small bookseller. I haven't bought a book in ages and it was an absolute indulgence to be in this one. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/noelandgladys" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>Noel and Gladys</b></span></a> and the <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/vinnieswollongong/photos/basw.Abq3Hiv_3rMKF_DmwBGJpevJCgDh-2QPMA9wluaGUh1d4WS6k4QEThQ-bfLaAkVPt0gi4vPqS_eg3eMPpJWyo13JOd1tcnWiUCGg2SgHnHrHwGoM_OOHGDRPJJAofOltIkqMHB5i9Mguj-_ij1yoH0Wd/489617961862359/?opaqueCursor=Abrfd6bwBvQ7fUCos77085AoNvbqB-a4x72U8Rx97R4lFoDnxLLAYwyEKQ8tYQPj4f_728nQvdVNd2OpDimRf2hbEOJTaNqEBuY2alXKFBWRGVlhkqK6dTaTIOUC38v_OiUbC6MqQE1joCMbNvKuXsGkxu1TZP8dl-y7069jZzcQpM4j0xKn2pNV24fAUUU8ufPjxZmjHZ3y729W0pDGovLXPqZ_nz5fuqufYcdTgBM7INNwmfC-tmEhyziMiqhxUpUwRI9PWUs9tPa5CUvCocxcLf7jMTl9VR1vaYVVQghUPe0ahWaM17plaPX14X7ykFc9ay-HrFwKN3-17viDFW9m-r35XYrl_NqY8YtjZXW7r0lEKrygiBZ4cG7ZPi3fQ_uR2nDFZovEteRuf9ZWsE_idLiqXLW5KD2OP4ySiiooD9zpYG1qQ84YqngWD_Qjvo6A1EwM1Pr58mGbv5LjegyBopmSlSvqg97ENJuqoq_WalwOVav1O2Bsc6NljfsobbFuREebuf9-15U4uTMfAjBjnJBeAEQVVCVVFXr_ujpdrdE9uo5p0lV1jO4QvAAXJmWuPw-3fN0jAwrTMAtj3EzEw-BV8d2JEmZ4fa2T7oN8dROEJpvld0BG5Sl8Kjf-voCuYRQtBckvSpQPysU-l41e4k6tVA8Epn-KQo-Iy3fseSfphEDwx6bJe66DqL5YxDREFYGkruFQ86Ls9HVbOeTgzL-BBhXWdIAl-1yKJZUrmXJlQB3h_vn4ZFIW1r1AhQykBmNue_Teqil5d7cpSKEpAD7jMfWM4RVCvMgrKO7JbbOfbmQUCALn1QlFUgD3CFzjH6l02ACgjMsJmldSiP5H8wX3GqSK9NRQqDwQBEsIqw" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;">upmarket Vinnies boutique</span></a></b> are also well worth a browse.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I stayed in <a href="https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/36982823?fbclid=IwAR3PqGy0EAF6DdHeBWcwf26Epjx-eqGCAUdubRUFTXTwjNv2qijO8_qgpk4&source_impression_id=p3_1601873369_XmUrzfdsufdyskfq" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>this airbnb</b></span></a>, walking distance to the village and beach and perfect for a solo traveller or couple. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">I OP SHOPPED...</span></b> I had a good dig around the Woonona Salvos store while I was away. It's a good op shop to put on your list. I brought home Italian-made leather brogues and a leather belt for cinching in those Covid kilos. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I READ...</b></span> something akin to the fiction I pick up when swapping books in AirBnBs and hotels. <a href="https://www.annapitoniak.com/necessary-people" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>Necessary People</b></span></i></a>, by Anna Pitoniak fit the bill for a quick plane, train or bus read without the plane, train or bus. Robin Sloan's <a href="https://www.robinsloan.com/books/sourdough/" target="_blank"><i><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Sourdough</span></b></i></a> was a more considered choice. It's not, as the name would suggest, a guide to the 2020 quarantine cooking fad, but rather a cheeky blend of science fiction, romance, mystery and magic and tree-change fiction that fits the moment despite the fact it was written some years back.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">I MADE...</span></b> Nothing new, though I have an idea to make a <a href="https://peppermintmag.com/sewing-school/pocket-skirt/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">couple of skirts</span></b></a> as a work-from-home option through spring and summer.</p>Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-45734511670071184522020-08-30T17:26:00.003+10:002020-08-30T17:26:18.172+10:00I'VE DONE IT... AUGUST 2020<p style="text-align: center;">Is it too soon to start thinking about Christmas? I don't think so. I have family interstate and we're resigned to the fact no one will be travelling for Christmas and summer catch-ups.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dUtX7aHpziU/X0tOtEdCCrI/AAAAAAAAHhg/XecZVRIpciwNh-fT1v5I6UrJGP_RatZcwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/small_DSC_0199_edited.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A flat lay of Christmas craft books and decorations" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dUtX7aHpziU/X0tOtEdCCrI/AAAAAAAAHhg/XecZVRIpciwNh-fT1v5I6UrJGP_RatZcwCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/small_DSC_0199_edited.jpg" title="Christmas crafts for a COVID-safe 2020 festive season" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rather, we're starting to think ahead to how we can make the season merry and bright, while also healthy and safe. The postal service will be busy and I am thinking ahead to ordering online and getting gifts to where they need to go. I'm even wondering whether gifts are the 2020 way to do Christmas, and what the alternatives might be. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Have you started thinking about how you will do Christmas this year?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I WENT TO...</b></span> Wollombi for a midweek break. It's only an hour from where I live but it was so good to take a cheeky mid-week, COVID-safe break, drive on country roads festooned with roadside wattle and explore this little Hunter Valley hamlet.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">I ATE...</span></b> Sardines on sourdough with goats cheese, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. So simple, but so good. Tinned sardines are an underrated pantry staple. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">I OP SHOPPED...</span></b> A bar jigger, silver-plated to boot. There'll be no more measuring out cocktail ingredients in a plastic cook's measure. We're going fancy this summer.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I READ...</b></span> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/sep/01/normal-people-sally-rooney-review" target="_blank"><i><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Normal People</span></b></i></a>, by Sally Rooney, <a href="https://theconversation.com/book-review-the-dictionary-of-lost-words-by-pip-williams-132503" target="_blank"><i><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">The Dictionary of Lost Words</span></b></i></a>, by Pip Williams and The <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/07/04/623234203/read-the-cabin-at-the-end-of-the-world-and-you-wont-sleep-for-a-week" target="_blank"><i><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Cabin at the End of the World</span></b></i></a>, by Paul Tremblay.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I MADE...</b></span> Three straw bale garden beds. They're an experiment to see whether I can harvest from an unused concrete driveway. The driveway gets a reasonable amount of direct sun and becomes quite hot in summer. It's too narrow for a modern car so it's a space that's going begging. Straw bale plots were in my permaculture plan for the house and garden and I am finally giving them a go. </div>Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-60117851970365752372020-08-09T15:10:00.002+10:002020-08-09T15:13:51.688+10:00I'VE DONE IT... JULY 2020<div>My week ended on Friday with a colleague sharing insights about how people are feeling as a result of ongoing Coronavirus restrictions. The upshot? People are scared. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wj1I9c7OnrU/XyVb4fjqVUI/AAAAAAAAHgQ/ZjRm3XJyNlMQUTGx85QoGiR4p-pUMQuLACLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/DSC_0044_small.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Yellow Cootamundra wattle in bloom" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wj1I9c7OnrU/XyVb4fjqVUI/AAAAAAAAHgQ/ZjRm3XJyNlMQUTGx85QoGiR4p-pUMQuLACLcBGAsYHQ/d/DSC_0044_small.jpg" title="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || Cootamundra wattle in bloom" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div>I’m not sure I would say I am scared, but I am cautious, prepared, mask-wearing, hand-washing, choosing to make myself scarce and only going places I can bet on there being few others. </div><div><br /></div><div>What I can say is I am thoroughly sick of online conferencing. My hands are rubbed raw, which makes me wonder at what skin can be left on the hands of health workers. I am newly irritated by noise, especially phone alerts, all of mine silenced save a few pressing work ones.</div><div><br /></div><div>I can’t say I’d go back to the way things were this time last year. </div><div><br /></div><div>Having had a taste of the flexibility that comes from a home office, I won’t be rushing at daily commutes. Without them creative thoughts and ideas are creeping back in.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I WENT TO…</b></span> Cootamundra. We agonised over whether to travel at all in the past month. I work in the city at least once a week and though I’ve not even suffered a runny nose this winter, I was nervous about the risk of unwittingly carrying a highly contagious and potentially deadly virus into a town with a high proportion of older folk. We scrubbed up, kept our distance, phoned ahead to book in a meal and check we were welcome and in the end had a charming weekend of road trips, wintery walks and a tasty pub meal or two. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I ATE…</b></span> I finally managed to get a sourdough starter going that was self-sustaining and didn’t need to be carried around our poorly heated old home. With a decent starter, I'm now turning out a couple of loaves a week. My next iso-cooking challenges are nougat and liquorice. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"><b>I OP SHOPPED…</b></span> The Red Cross shop at Cootamundra was everything I love about country op shops. It’s a cavernous old building, with every room on the lower floor full of treasures to hunt through. Another lucky find was the church op shop at Murrumburrah. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">I READ…</span></b> Julia Baird’s <i><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/lunch-with-julia-baird-author-of-phosphorescence-promoter-of-awe-20200514-p54sz2.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>Phosphorescence</b></span></a></i>. It was sitting on my bedside table so long I’ve had several overdue library reminders. It’s not a front page to back page read; you dip in and out and back through. From the audio selection, read via Borrow Box, I finished Tara June Winch's <i><a href="https://thestellaprize.com.au/prize/2020-prize/the-yield/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">The Yield</span></b></a></i>, and Kiran Millwood Hargrave's <i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/21/the-mercies-kiran-millwood-hargrave-first-adult-novel-witches-norwegian-village" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">The Mercies</span></b></a></i>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">I MADE…</span></b> Masks. I’ve now got a stash to have two with me on every outing, two in the wash and spares. While the machine’s been out, I’ve also pulled a few UFOs from the cupboard, including an idea I had for a soft art doll made from the salvaged pieces of a silverfish-riddled <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/aussie-fair/patterns" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Liz Gemmell knit</span></b></a>. Keep your eye on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/katiecrackernut/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">my Instagram account</span></b></a>. I'll share a picture there when I remember to take one.</div></div>Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-67424195448512442352020-06-30T21:16:00.000+10:002020-06-30T21:16:15.158+10:00I'VE DONE IT... JUNE 2020I miss the tart navel oranges you used to get in winter. Has anyone managed to find themselves a good supply of juicy winter oranges? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GzGWE9mv4iE/XvsYlegOgPI/AAAAAAAAHeU/fmyWRr9l2wc8S9RfS77yqN959OedygCWgCK4BGAsYHg/s1000/small_DSC_0069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="oranges on the tree hang over a fence in the rural community of Dungog in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GzGWE9mv4iE/XvsYlegOgPI/AAAAAAAAHeU/fmyWRr9l2wc8S9RfS77yqN959OedygCWgCK4BGAsYHg/d/small_DSC_0069.jpg" title="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || remember the tart naval oranges you used to get in winter" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We had a tree of navels and a tree of mandarins where I grew up and I was reminded of them when I walked the streets of Dungog this month. Every back yard, and even plenty of front yards, had orange or lemon trees - most of them laden. I bought a few from the local grower's market, but they're not what I remember. Do you still have an old orange tree in the back yard?</div><div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#b51200" face="helvetica"><b>I WENT TO...</b></font> <a href="https://www.visitdungog.com.au/" target="_blank"><font color="#f4a900"><b>Dungog</b></font></a>. I really appreciate where I live, but like most of us, I've been pretty house-bound and playing it Covid-safe. How different travel is now. We checked in to every place we ate, even for a coffee. We carried and used hand santiser. We chose outside adventures, like a walk over the <a href="https://dungogcommon.org/" target="_blank"><font color="#f4a900"><b>Dungog Common</b></font></a> and the weekly <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Community/Local-Living-Dungog-Local-Growers-Market-483953398444166/" target="_blank"><b><font color="#f4a900">outdoor grower's markets</font></b></a> where, even there, we patiently took part in the ticketing system. </div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#b51200" face="helvetica"><b>I ATE...</b></font> We did venture out closer to home earlier in the month for our first meal in a restaurant since March, maybe even February. The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theferryman.davistown/" target="_blank"><font color="#f4a900"><b>same local that sustained us with take-outs</b></font></a> through the months of lock-down was our choice and it's fast becoming my favourite restaurant on the Central Coast. </div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#b51200" face="helvetica"><b>I OP SHOPPED...</b></font> Enough balls of Patons Totem to knit a jumper, a black leather jacket and a [air of true 1980s, made-in-Australia denim jeans. I also scored a few work-from-home knit tops and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBpKHe-hogJ/" target="_blank"><font color="#f4a900"><b>a 1963 copy of <i>Australian House and Garden</i></b></font></a>.Thank goodness the op shops are open again. </div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#b51200" face="helvetica"><b>I READ...</b></font> Elizabeth Gilbert's <i><a href="https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/books/stern-men/" target="_blank"><font color="#f4a900"><b>Stern Men</b></font></a> </i>and have been listening to <i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/mar/04/midnight-in-chernobyl-adam-higginbotham-manual-for-survival-kate-brown-review" target="_blank"><font color="#f4a900"><b>Midnight in Chernobyl</b></font></a></i> on BorrowBox. It's due back tomorrow and I'm not yet done. I'll have to wait until it comes back onto the reservations list.</div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#b51200" face="helvetica"><b>I MADE...</b></font> Turmeric everything. I pulled the annual harvest and have made up turmeric tonics and paste. If you're a fan of the warm, woody flavours of turmeric, I can <a href="https://katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com/2016/07/turmeric-chai-for-one.html" target="_blank"><b><font color="#f4a900">also recommend my chai recipe</font></b></a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#b51200" face="helvetica"><b>I WATCHED...</b></font> the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9APLXM9Ei8" target="_blank"><font color="#f4a900"><b>HBO series <i>Chernobyl</i></b></font></a>. Disasters, and the failings of bureaucracy - Communist or otherwise - to mitigate or manage them fascinate me. Essentially, the failings are always much the same. No one thought it could happen, so no one planned for it to happen. A decent learning for the time we live in.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>On that cheery note, I'll choof off. Can you believe it's winter? There's a 23C day forecast this week for Sydney. I've not yet dragged out my favourite winter woollies. You?</div>Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-58854799549095093302020-05-31T12:40:00.000+10:002020-05-31T12:40:03.722+10:00I HAVEN'T DONE IT... MAYSee what I did there? It's been a month of coronavirus-enforced nothingness, which on a personal front has been good. On a global front, the world is an increasingly strange and maddening, even frightening, place.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gnrfybufvTI/XtMRzJuZTVI/AAAAAAAAHcU/z05y_oq_0j0Vrw7F6hdFFjuP4EbxCNcLACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0002_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts lounge room" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gnrfybufvTI/XtMRzJuZTVI/AAAAAAAAHcU/z05y_oq_0j0Vrw7F6hdFFjuP4EbxCNcLACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0002_edited.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts lounge room" /></a></div>
<br />
While I've been cocooned at home, I've been skimming news. For someone who lives and breathes a news cycle, both professionally and personally, that's been quite the shift, but after an unrelenting few months of notifications from news, emergency and work apps, as well as apps for keeping up with friends and family, I was done with all the inputs and wanted to focus my time on the inputs of a new job.<br />
<br />
I started with NSW Government agency <a href="https://www.resilience.nsw.gov.au/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Resilience NSW</span></b></a> at the end of April, and along with a number of other new staff, started the job remotely. It has consumed my capacity for absorbing anything beyond what's relevant to the task and only this week have I started turning back on notifications for news and other apps: and what, quite frankly, an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/us/minneapolis-floyd-protests.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">awful week to do so</span></b></a>. The worst of it, it's <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/my-son-should-not-have-died-prison-death-of-indigenous-man-is-much-more-than-an-isolated-tragedy" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">not just this week</span></b></a>, is it, and it's not just in America?<br />
<br />
So with a reentry into life beyond my bubble, I'm also ready for a cautious reentry into the office and limits of my suburb. Maybe next month I'll have done a little more.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I WENT TO...</span></b> the city, just four days this past month. I am a long-haul commuter, travelling by train four hours a day to get to work. COVID-19 has meant I've ditched the train travel and replaced those four hours with yoga in the morning, a leisurely breakfast and cups of tea with my partner before work, a coffee run to the local cafe where other locals and I chatter about our days and muse over the world we'll re-enter at the end of lock-down. I walk for an hour in the afternoon and potter around in the garden or pick up a knitting project in the evenings. It's been lovely.<br />
<br />
But, with a new job comes a desire to meet your colleagues and get to know them, and them you. Remote working isn't an easy environment for a new team to 'form, storm, norm and perform', and it's going to take a lot longer than if we were in the office.<br />
<br />
The four precious days I spent in the office were, even with a commute, a cautiously navigated treat.<br />
<br />
The first week I went in, I was careful to touch nothing other than my own personal effects. I washed my hands every hour and showered as soon as I arrived home. The second week was much the same, but with more commuting and more in the office it's easy to become complacent.<br />
<br />
With a long weekend around the corner, we've got to pull ourselves together and remember those early days and weeks of lock down. No one wants to go back there, and no one wants to see those case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths rise.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I ATE...</span></b> If I am suffering any COVID-19 FOGO (Fear of Going Out), it's related to eating out. I want nothing more than to casually walk into a cafe, order a coffee, and sit down for a moment or two. I keep clear of malls and do the groceries when there are fewer people, so the idea of being seated with cups, cutlery and food that I've had no hygiene control over is my weird FOGO block.<br />
<br />
I did make a fabulous <a href="https://aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com/rhubarb-buttermilk-cake/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">rhubarb and buttermilk cake</span></b></a> at home though.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I OP SHOPPED...</b></span> Every time I pass my local Vinnies store, its shopfront window is a time capsule for the start of lock-down. The dummies are dressed in summer clothes, abandoned mid-March before the autumn and now winter stock could be brought out from storage.<br />
<br />
Op shops are rolling out staggered openings across the state. My favourite local Salvos store has reopened and I'll be paying a visit over the coming long weekend.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I READ...</span></b> I downloaded the library app <a href="https://www.borrowbox.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Borrow Box</span></b></a> and have been borrowing audio books to listen to while pottering around the house and garden. I've listened to Helen Garner's <i>The Spare Room</i> and tried a couple of other title on for size, returning books through the app if I can't get into them.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I MADE...</b></span> I have a pretty intense colour knitting project on the go. I'm determined not to pick something else up until it's finished. We'll see how committed I was to that this time next month.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I LISTENED TO... </b></span>Aside from the audio books, I've been listening to ABC RN's <b><i><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-history-listen/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;">The History Listen</span></a></i></b>, and craft podcast, <a href="http://www.closeknit.com.au/" target="_blank"><i><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Close Knit</span></b></i></a>. Along with video conferencing, I'm a tad over podcasts.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I FOUND ONLINE...</span></b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Are you <a href="https://theconversation.com/futuring-can-help-us-survive-the-climate-crisis-and-guess-what-youre-a-futurist-too-130538" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">futuring</span></b></a>?</li>
<li>This funded <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cardkits/cardkits-toys" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Kickstarter campaign</span></b></a> is perfect childhood nostalgia</li>
<li><a href="https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/La-Trobe-Journal-99-Sandra-Pullman.pdf" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Gardener, activist, feminist</span></b></a></li>
<li>Knitting and heavy metal, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/OMG/Worlds-first-heavy-metal-knitting-competition-rocks-Finland-595591" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">WTF</span></b></a>.</li>
<li><b><span style="color: #bf9000;"><a href="https://theconversation.com/team-building-exercises-can-be-a-waste-of-time-you-achieve-more-by-getting-personal-119601" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Science backs oversharing</span></a> </span></b></li>
<li>The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/the-working-womans-handbook" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">NYT's Working Woman's Handbook</span></b></a>: aka cheat sheets for better balance</li>
</ul>
Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-51539227414737778372020-05-03T19:59:00.002+10:002020-05-23T16:54:25.670+10:00I'VE DONE IT... APRIL 2020I took the time through April to simply be at home and adjust to what, at the start of the month, looked like the long haul of COVID-19.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AtMdNqChIJs/Xq6PSWA9cLI/AAAAAAAAHao/8x1_th4b5BANPl7eClpo6wK4rpbCeAzeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_Jenny%2BKee%2Bknit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || Jenny Kee picture knit macro" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AtMdNqChIJs/Xq6PSWA9cLI/AAAAAAAAHao/8x1_th4b5BANPl7eClpo6wK4rpbCeAzeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_Jenny%2BKee%2Bknit.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || Jenny Kee picture knit macro" /></a></div>
<br />
It will still be a long haul, and not just because of the physical threat an unknown virus brings. As the days and weeks of April passed, more people were laid off, more had their hours cut and more found it harder to bear the mental anguish of the unknown. A 'flattened curve' brings some hope, and ultimately, hope that things will get better is usually borne out, we just have to be patient, be kind, think of others above ourselves and stay positive.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">IN APRIL (with a couple of COVID-19 additions):</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I WENT TO...</b></span> school. Well, not quite school, but I used the time at home to learn. I've been wanting to study photography, and added it to this year's soul list, so I got the cameras out and used the two months of <a href="https://www.skillshare.com/home" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">free classes on Skillshare</span></b></a> to my advantage.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I ATE...</b></span> A lot of home cooking. I think there'll be a resurgence in entertaining at home, don't you? We've already had a friend over with the relaxed lock down rules and whipped up a batch of scones to share. I've also been part of two recipe sharing email chains, and spied this story about the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/28/dining/community-cookbooks-coronavirus.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">resurgence of community cook books</span></b></a> to diversify the menus of home cooks.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I OP SHOPPED...</span></b> Not a dot. I know there's a bazillion places online to shop secondhand, but it's not the same as a good old op-shop rummage. I'll wait until my favourite treasure troves can open again.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I READ...</b></span> Over the past couple of months I've read <i>Fleishman is in Trouble</i>, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner; <i>Bruny</i>, by Heather Rose; <i>The Nowhere Child</i>, by Christian White; and, <i>The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart</i> by Holly Ringland. <i>Bruny</i> was my favourite. Have you read it?<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b> MADE...</b></span> short and long-sleeved shirts from a thrifted pattern and thrifted material. The cut-off remnants were turned into <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-iXmMtJj2h/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">matching masks</span></b></a>. I started on my quest to make sourdough: <a href="https://katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com/2020/02/im-bringing-back-birthday-soul-list.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">No.3 from this year's soul list</span></b></a>. My partner actually started on <a href="https://katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com/2020/02/im-bringing-back-birthday-soul-list.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">No.5 from the soul list</span></b></a>: the digitising of family photo albums. She's made a surprising dent in what we thought would be a massive year-long task. I also cracked on with No.6 from the <a href="https://katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com/2020/02/im-bringing-back-birthday-soul-list.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">soul list</span></b></a> and ordered <a href="https://www.indigigrow.com.au/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">tube stock of native bush foods</span></b></a>, and used the free two-months of <a href="https://www.skillshare.com/home" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Skillshare classes</span></b></a> to brush up on photography skills. While I had the free access, I also watched a few videos on sourdough starters and baking and printmaking classes.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I LISTENED TO...</b></span> I was hoping to see Ani DiFranco play a side gig to the Byron Bay Bluesfest in Sydney this month. With Bluesfest cancelled, and all side gigs along with it, I dug out Ani's older albums and have been playing them as CDs and on Spotify.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I FOUND ONLINE...</b></span> These creative interpretations of living with COVID-19, namely <a href="https://giftshop.redcross.org.uk/pages/downloadable-limited-edition-prints" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">British Red Cross' Kindness poster art</span></b></a> and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/16/nyregion/coronavirus-nyc-illustrators-window.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">collective work of New York artists and illustrators</span></b></a> who have drawn what they can see from windows looking out over locked down neighbourhoods.Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-62149359520983787632020-04-06T20:51:00.002+10:002020-04-08T11:42:48.522+10:00I'VE DONE IT... MARCH 2020And here we are again, another month, another emergency. I'm delayed on this post, and for good reason. There are plenty of balls in the air, and like you, no doubt, I've been adjusting to the new routines of working from home.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eBOiV3r6IcY/XoqyFRCyvjI/AAAAAAAAHZE/1jDE50WK4xk-QyEWNdgXXTmMLXQnYabvACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/mink-mingle-8cOib7pidak-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eBOiV3r6IcY/XoqyFRCyvjI/AAAAAAAAHZE/1jDE50WK4xk-QyEWNdgXXTmMLXQnYabvACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/mink-mingle-8cOib7pidak-unsplash.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Look, I don't mind working from home. I've got a quiet office space set up and all my children are grown, so there are not little ones here (or bigger ones) seeking amusement, help with homework, a snack (again) or the adult deliberations on sibling squabbles. I studied full time and remotely for two years through 2017 and 2018, so forming a new team and executing a project became pretty routine in the online learning environment. I have a garden to dig in and enjoy time outside, I have a pretty stable internet connection, a well-stocked pantry and freezer, a craft stash and a bookshelf of unread books to keep me amused in my downtime.<br />
<br />
But mostly I'm spending my time <a href="https://www.redcross.org.au/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>wrapping up my emergency campaign work at one place</b></span></a> and preparing mentally (and remotely) to serve the community through another. It's not an easy thing to be leaving an organisation that's mid-emergency and <a href="https://www.redcross.org.au/news-and-media/news/our-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">seriously scaling up its programs</span></b></a> to support people made vulnerable by Covid-19, as well as maintaining its <a href="https://www.redcross.org.au/grants" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">emergency grants</span></b></a> and <a href="https://www.redcross.org.au/bushfirefunds" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">recovery programs</span></b></a> for those affected by summer's bushfires. It's also not without some trepidation that I take a gigantic, and exciting, leap in the middle of a devastated economy. Family members all around me are being laid off each and every week of the past few. If that's happening in your household too, I hope you're doing okay. Equally, if your loved ones are essential service workers and unable to stay safe at home, we share your worries.<br />
<br />
What I am buoyed by is the kindness and care I am seeing in my community and around the world. I am heartened by Zoom and Facebook chats about the kind of world that could be forged as a result of this pandemic. I am amazed by the ingenuity of businesses and I am astounded by the ways people are sharing, communicating and connecting.<br />
<br />
While this isn't my usual monthly rundown of where I've been and what I've seen, it's a grab bag of things I've read online over the past few weeks and want to share.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">THINGS TO TAKE HEART FROM</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Killing Coronavirus with kindess: </span><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/coronavirus-sparks-an-epidemic-of-people-helping-people-in-seattle/" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">here</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/style/teddy-bear-scavenger-hunt.html" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">here</span></b></a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1320898228108678/70?e=ab77db4967" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>Caremongering</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. I love this almost as much as '</span><a href="https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/923825-guidance-on-cocooning-to-protect-people-over-70-years-and-those-extr/" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">cocooing</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Tips from </span><a href="https://www.redcross.org.au/stories/covid-19/ideas-for-pre-schoolers-during-covid-19" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Australian Red Cross staff working from home</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> about how to amuse the little ones</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We can't take part, but we can still do the art: </span><a href="https://artsoutwest.org.au/just-the-good-news-in-a-time-of-covid/" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">here</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="https://artsmidnorthcoast.com/projects/isolation-creation-mid-north-coast/" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">here</span></b></a><br />
<div>
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">THINGS TO MAKE AND DO</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Get your </span><b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">scissors out for <a href="https://www.instagram.com/easy_iso_craft/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;">an #isocrafternoon</span></a></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm thinking of </span><b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><a href="https://jiggypuzzles.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;">buying one for me</span></a> and one for a friend<span style="color: #bf9000;"> </span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I wasn't quick enough for this </span><a href="https://happyhank.com.au/collections/kits/products/wes-anderson-collection-fantastic-mr-fox-mini-set" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Wes Anderson-inspired addition to the craft stash</span></b></a><br />
<a href="https://www.rebelgirls.com/pages/podcast" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Listen with your daughter, or son</span></b></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There's a link to </span><a href="https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=7ffd04812c1972d0dd39de876&id=bd854d2334&e=7ff9469690" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">vintage paper crafts</span></b></a><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">THINGS TO COOK AND EAT</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A </span><a href="https://shop.cwaofnsw.org.au/index.php?route=product/category&path=13" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">virtual scone to replace the one you might have bought</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> from the Royal Easter Show tearooms</span><br />
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B2rPQF6HeEQ/" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">An immune-boosting kick</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> to take you into the cooler months</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Simple </span><a href="https://gourmetgirl-friend.blogspot.com/2013/03/baking-bread-real-deal.html" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">home-baked bread</span></b></a><br />
<br />
I hope you're doing okay and finding ways to thrive in these times.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@minkmingle?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Mink Mingle</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/bed?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></span></div>
Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-39869291409058167302020-03-01T20:23:00.000+11:002020-03-01T20:23:25.776+11:00I'VE DONE IT... FEBRUARY 2020February was a salve to the months of <a href="https://katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com/2020/01/ive-done-it-january-2020.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">bushfires, smokes, heat, personal stresses and work slog</span></b></a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kdaAf2iY8CU/Xlt0zCgilhI/AAAAAAAAHXk/9EbqBlWHphM5TfPErpTz5NXTzaC_sw0IwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || Myall Lakes campgrounds" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kdaAf2iY8CU/Xlt0zCgilhI/AAAAAAAAHXk/9EbqBlWHphM5TfPErpTz5NXTzaC_sw0IwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0136.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || Myall Lakes campgrounds" /></a></div>
<br />
It's my <a href="https://katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com/2020/02/im-bringing-back-birthday-soul-list.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">birthday in February</span></b></a>, which always feels like a marker for new beginnings. Rain, clear air, letters from afar and time spent with those close made the month feel like a better start to the year than January. And don't get me wrong, I know that's a luxury. For many, the months ahead will be a haze of stress, anger and disappointments. It'll be some time yet before they can let go of the summer we've had. But for me, right now, with a <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/02/28/809580453/just-for-kids-a-comic-exploring-the-new-coronavirus" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">new disaster looming</span></b></a>, it was a short moment to recharge and regroup.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I WENT TO...</b></span> Wingham, on the NSW mid-north coast. I tagged along on my partner's road trip <a href="https://www.facebook.com/twominutepostcards/posts/3729500063728556" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">to film a Two Minute Postcard</span></b></a> travel vlog about a bushfire-affected community. Wingham has had rain since we visited but at the start of the month things were pretty dire. The area has had prolonged drought, great swathes of land were razed by bushfires early in the season and others have now had pockets of flooding along with crop destruction caused by native wildlife displaced from natural habitats and looking for a feed. I marvelled at the strength and resilience of the people we met, despite the circumstances, and their deep love for the area they call home.<br />
<br />
The month finished up with an overnight in Newcastle, and this weekend was spent camping with friends at Myall Lakes. There was plenty of swimming, lazing about with a good book and chatting over a hot cuppa.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I ATE...</span></b> So much travelling meant there were plenty of opportunities for a good feed. A breakfast and a lunch at Wingham's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BentonFood" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Bent on Food</span></b></a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/gardengrubcafe/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Garden Grub Cafe</span></b></a> were memorable, but a selection of small plates and great service at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MEETXXMEAT" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Meet</span></b></a>, in Newcastle was the standout. You also can't go past a camp breakfast of french toast, topped with banana and maple syrup.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I OP SHOPPED...</b></span> Still no op shopping, but I plan to change that with a mini road trip later this month. I've got days of overtime to take and I'll be enjoying a little adventure to catch up on friends, spend time with family, and op shop.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I READ...</b></span> Like almost everyone on the planet, I read Delia Owen's <i>Where the Crawdads Sing</i>. The mystery keeps the pace moving, but mostly I enjoyed the natural history references as well as the take on poverty, loneliness, abandonment and sense of self that sweeps through the chapters.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I MADE...</b></span> That cowl I cast on last month as mindless knitting to keep hands busy and allow my mind to wander was finished during the road trip to Wingham. It'll have to sit on the shelf for quite a few weeks before it's cold enough to wear it. We've got a 37C day here tomorrow for the second day of autumn.Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-22540318951628954162020-02-28T10:00:00.000+11:002020-02-28T10:01:01.491+11:00I'M BRINGING BACK THE BIRTHDAY SOUL LISTA few years back I started making an annual soul list: a list of things, one for each year of growth and learning to<br />
bring joy, peace or freedom. That is, things that would feed the soul.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UUqn14eNQuQ/XlhJG2ndylI/AAAAAAAAHXA/g06eRWg8DwQ5lv04aBvDFBanf6J1fW4PgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_daria-volkova-9I3rrrUrhHY-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo by Daria Volkova on Unsplash" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UUqn14eNQuQ/XlhJG2ndylI/AAAAAAAAHXA/g06eRWg8DwQ5lv04aBvDFBanf6J1fW4PgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_daria-volkova-9I3rrrUrhHY-unsplash.jpg" title="Photo by Daria Volkova on Unsplash" /></a></div>
<br />
At my birthday <a href="https://katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com/2018/03/making-new-birthday-soul-list.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">I’d make the list</span></b></a>, building from <a href="https://katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com/2017/02/my-birthday-soul-list.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>the last</b></span></a>, or revising expectations. Then over the past couple of years things got pretty hairy with a family situation, studies absorbed every spare moment and my work environment was both chaotic and insecure. A few things got ticked off the soul list, but not with much joy, peace or freedom. <br />
<br />
This year, the family situation is resolved, for now, the studies are done and work, despite an exhausting season of bushfires* is more stable.<br />
<br />
My birthday was this week, and it feels like the right time to resurrect the soul list, albeit shorter.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">1.</span></b> <span style="color: #990000;"><b>Head to the ocean.</b></span> I’ve been doing that a lot more than I would normally anyway. I will never be an ocean swimmer, surfer or even find a love for snorkelling, but I can appreciate the need to be present and in tune with the rhythms of each set and the rare glimpses of calm you can see under those waves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">2. Camp.</span></b> I’m no longer a Girl Guide leader, or member, which means I’m not under canvas as much as I was. In the last years of my Guiding, I was rarely in camp at all. I’ve missed the smell of the wet grass and soil outside the tent flap, the cosy warmth of a crackling fire and the endeavour of camping, hiking and cooking outdoors. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">3. Bake sourdough bread.</span></b> It’s been on my soul list for a while. This year’s the year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">4. Get the kayak onto the water. </span></b>It’s another from a past soul list. I’m going to sign up to a couple of group paddles to explore new waters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">5. Go through the photo albums and start digitising the collection.</span></b> My folks evacuated their home several times through the fires, bringing boxes of documents, photos and saved ephemera with them each time. My partner started scanning and documenting the files for them, capturing snippets of oral history as my distressed Mum lost herself in the storytelling. It was both a salve for the moment, and a practical thing to do in these uncertain times.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>6. Plant Australian bush foods and start using them in my cooking.</b> </span>I did a wonderful and enlightening bush foods workshop at the <span style="color: #bf9000;"><a href="https://www.jamboreesouthcoast.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>South Coast Jamboree</b></span></a> </span>last year and am keen to bring some of the plants I learned about into my herb garden. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">7. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Plan and host more dinner parties.</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">8. Spend time with my sister and her family. </span></b>We had plans for Christmas, but the threat of fires and the plea from emergency services to cancel unnecessary travel meant plans were cancelled.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">9. Enjoy the city I work in. </span></b>I come in to Sydney for work, but rarely step outside of the office, let alone explore what's happening beyond the immediate block of where I work. No festivals, no shows, no catching up with friends or work colleagues for a drink or dinner out. Time to make plans to stay in town more often.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">10. Do a photography course.</span></b> It might need to be online for this year, but I have all the gear and no idea. I'm a complete novice and would love to properly be able to use the lenses and filters I have. Every goodish shot I've ever taken has been a little bit of knowledge and a whole lotta luck.</span><br />
<br />
10 items for the soul list. Short, sweet, soul-filling.<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">* I lead on emergency management communications at Australian Red Cross</span></i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@darias_big_world?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Daria Volkova</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/birthday-confetti?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></i></span></div>
Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-58996167536786927582020-01-30T21:32:00.002+11:002020-01-30T21:46:39.536+11:00I'VE DONE IT... JANUARY 2020There are no words I can yet share to describe the first weeks of 2020. None.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uoMRo4auL6s/XjKsroDNC1I/AAAAAAAAHWQ/f98wViPV5OEdAJGltNVs2E3gukfkusylQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || summer drought garden" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uoMRo4auL6s/XjKsroDNC1I/AAAAAAAAHWQ/f98wViPV5OEdAJGltNVs2E3gukfkusylQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0007.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || summer drought garden" /></a></div>
<br />
Plenty have put their own tangle of emotions into print. Words of anger, distress, fear, shame, solidarity, even hope, have poured from many. I've seen Facebook comments spitting with rage and read eloquent, beautifully-penned pleas to care for those near and dear.<br />
<br />
I know all are valid. Each and every one of us will process this summer over months and years to come. We all have a story to tell: from days of heavy smoke, to searing heat and advancing fire fronts. Of anxiously scouring apps and Facebook for updates, of alarm at a southerly - instead of delight and relief - through to heartbreaking loss. Such heartbreaking loss.<br />
<br />
January has passed me by in a haze of work. There's been work to do, so much work. And more to get done.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>IN JANUARY:</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I WENT TO...</b></span> The plan is to take a break this weekend and visit a fire-affected community on the mid-north coast. We'll take an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/emptyesky/?hl=en" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">#emptyesky</span></b></a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/spendwiththem/?hl=en" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">#spendwiththem</span></b></a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I ATE...</b></span> Simply, and well.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I OP SHOPPED...</b></span> Not at all. I know, right?<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I READ...</b></span> To switch off from phones and a constant stream of notifications, I downed tools at the end of each night and picked up a book. This month I started with the last of Nora Robert's Chronicles of The One trilogy: <i>The Rise of Magicks</i>. A distracting read, but a little disappointing in its formulaic plot and ending.<br />
<br />
However, Leah Purcell's <i>The Drover's Wife</i> was everything I needed, and more. You know those books that even though it's late at night, you just can't put down? This is that. It's a book you will walk away from knowing you've read something important. Read it.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I MADE...</b></span> I did have a week off somewhere in the middle of January. It was a week of leave I'd booked and planned to take in December, but it wasn't until two weeks later that I could take it.<br />
<br />
When I did, I came home to distressed parents, staying with us after leaving their home to the fate of fires for a third time. Their home still stands - sadly five in their village do not - and when they left us, I picked up an abandoned knitting project, pulled it apart and started knitting a simple cowl in the round. It has a teeny pattern repeat that can be done without thinking too much.<br />
<br />
I got about 20cm in before having to abandon it to another frantic fortnight of work, but it was cathartic to rip something apart and start to remake. A crafting metaphor, perhaps, for the times we find ourselves in.<br />
<br />
Take care.Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-34136737820428033802019-12-28T15:00:00.000+11:002019-12-28T15:00:02.988+11:00I'VE DONE IT... DECEMBERA Merry Christmas to all who come by this little blog and a safe, healthy and happy new year to you and yours.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fvZIpFM7ycw/XgWhHXbWUeI/AAAAAAAAHVU/D0YkeLErbQIXsPvSocpjqObnlb2u518HgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0020_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || vintage glass christmas baubles" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fvZIpFM7ycw/XgWhHXbWUeI/AAAAAAAAHVU/D0YkeLErbQIXsPvSocpjqObnlb2u518HgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0020_edited.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || vintage glass christmas baubles" /></a></div>
<br />
Not a lot has changed from one month to the next. Early November saw one of the first 'catastrophic' fire days of the season. From that day, the days and weeks have been a blur. Since the start of this fire season, some time back in August, we've seen more than 800 houses burn. That's 800 households facing a very different holiday season and rough start to 2020.<br />
<br />
On top of that, with no rain forecast for some time, we have communities still struggling with the impact of drought. Add fires, and, what can you say... my heart goes out to them all.<br />
<br />
Here at home, we're bucketing water from the sink, laundry and shower onto the garden, but plenty is dying and I'll have to wait to see what recovers when rain comes.<br />
<br />
Not too far down the road, my folks are packed and ready to leave their home, built in a small, peaceful, sleepy little village that just happens to sit on the edge of a tinder-dry national park. They've not slept for days and are trying to maintain a sense of normality through a Christmas spent without family.<br />
<br />
My sister and brother-in-law were expected this week, but with roads closing at the drop of a hat and heatwave conditions expected for the drive home we decided they were safer where they were.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>IN DECEMBER:</b></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I WENT TO... </span></b>Work. Thankfully, family and good friends, as well as extraordinary workmates have made the long days easier.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I ATE...</b></span> Again, friends have really chipped in to make this easy. Some have come around for a spread of fruit, cheese and biscuits at the end of a long working day. Others have invited us up to their deck for a quiet glass of wine and a delicious home-cooked spread.<br />
<br />
The best meal though was an impromptu picnic of lush french toast, fresh fruit and yoghurt by the beach at Toowoon Bay. Again, a friend and I filled our baskets, put in a Thermos and met for an early breakfast, walk on the beach, swim and a coffee. A perfect morning.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I OP SHOPPED...</b></span> A car boot sale at the start of the month netted me three beautiful <a href="https://www.ccpotters.org/blog/pottery-is-a-journey" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Judy Barrett pottery bowls</span></b></a> and a hunt for cocktail glasses was also fortuitous.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I READ...</span></b> a rather terrifying fictional piece on what our societies could be like for us in a post-climate change world. <i>After the Flood</i>, by Kassandra Montag, is unsettling, and offers very little hope. While I liked the story, I wouldn't recommend to anyone showing signs of climate or disaster fatigue. Charlotte Wood's <i>The Weekend</i>, did little to cheer me up. You know these characters, all four of them. You probably are one. But the brutality of age on women was more than I could bear. Again, not one to pass on to your mother, aunt or any woman suffering a crisis of confidence in middle age. I'm now zipping through short stories in Debra Adelaide's <i>Zebra: and other stories</i>. The next book I pick up will need to be a little more light-hearted.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I MADE...</b></span> it to the end of the year. Phew. High fives all 'round. See you in the new one.<br />
<br />Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-84164943921536615402019-12-01T19:44:00.004+11:002019-12-01T19:44:51.135+11:00I'VE DONE IT... NOVEMBERWhen I was little my family lived opposite bush dominated by casuarinas, also known as she-oaks, and at Christmas I'd trot behind my Dad when he wandered into the bush, owned by the local mine, to cut and bring home a tree.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3NFSDE9qh74/XeN4MMDJ4LI/AAAAAAAAHUU/z3cajy8C5Ycb-wIRrHeBzBowvhlch0gFgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || casuarinas in the australian bush" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3NFSDE9qh74/XeN4MMDJ4LI/AAAAAAAAHUU/z3cajy8C5Ycb-wIRrHeBzBowvhlch0gFgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0030.jpg" title="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || casuarinas in the australian bush" /></a></div>
<br />
And, with each year, when day-time temperatures climb and bush scents are accentuated, I am reminded of those early Christmases.<br />
<br />
<b>IN NOVEMBER:</b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>I WENT TO...</b></span> the Blue Mountains for <a href="https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/walking-tracks/grand-canyon-track" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">a day of walking</span></b></a> and <a href="https://megalongtearooms.com.au/menu/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">scones</span></b></a> to celebrate a friend's birthday.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>I ATE...</b></span> lovely meals at the homes of old friends who have a new house close by and old friends who are far away but well worth the long drive. A home-cooked meal is made all the better for eating it outside, and even though tables are dusty and the air smoky, to be outside with friends and good, lovingly-made fare is still a good choice.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">I OP SHOPPED... </span></b>A couple of 1980s Christmas craft books and a bright blue Indian pattern silk scarf (<a href="https://katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com/2019/11/around-here-scenes-from-slow-weekend.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">spy it here</span></b></a>). I'll be sure to get all the Christmas craft books out this week, along with the trees and all the Christmas decor.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>I MADE...</b></span> Glazed pots will be out of the kiln tomorrow. I can't wait to pick them up. I love a glaze reveal.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">I READ... </span></b>Weather reports and seasonal forecasts. It seemed like all I did was watch fire alerts and keep across what important communications from Australian Red Cross needed to be on or off. If you're thinking about how you can help another this Christmas, do think about giving to <a href="https://www.redcross.org.au/campaigns/disaster-relief-and-recovery-bushfires" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Red Cross' Disaster Relief and Recovery fund</span></b></a>. I can't share here all the amazing stories I hear from our staff and volunteers in the field, but if there was ever a time to ensure someone was there to guide people through the trauma of being evacuated, or worse, losing a home, it's now.Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-8232550753202001672019-11-24T16:29:00.003+11:002019-11-24T16:29:52.898+11:00AROUND HERE | SCENES FROM A SLOW WEEKENDIT'S been a slow weekend here. The weather is cooler, we haven't strayed far from the front door and generally we've been pacing ourselves for what will be a busy month of family and festivities.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nYzRDT5iDhE/XdoNO25Q25I/AAAAAAAAHTc/azuEaSv4a0UjyQefVNS1QkKKltpMar41QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || spring garden flower sprig" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nYzRDT5iDhE/XdoNO25Q25I/AAAAAAAAHTc/azuEaSv4a0UjyQefVNS1QkKKltpMar41QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0115.jpg" title="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || spring garden flower sprig" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Two grandkidlets have already had a whirling dervish visit, upending the house, as they do, and with them gone, our Sunday has been quiet. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YPBGeNgO9dA/XdoNhwUqWKI/AAAAAAAAHTk/dhOFQzPROhgyxt44HXU-pcAE3XmSiLdUACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0092_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || spring fresh grapes in an op shop pottery bowl" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YPBGeNgO9dA/XdoNhwUqWKI/AAAAAAAAHTk/dhOFQzPROhgyxt44HXU-pcAE3XmSiLdUACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0092_edited.jpg" title="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || spring fresh grapes in an op shop pottery bowl" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: left;">We're nibbling at grapes and cooking simple omelettes, strewn with fresh cut chives, or a frittata with cold potato chunks and leftover sausage from Friday night's barbecue, served with salad greens picked from the garden.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TUO5GycMZyg/XdoNkMrB5iI/AAAAAAAAHT4/MzA1MB7I9tYpcvbxesdFQ_8hs5gLtTnAQCEwYBhgL/s1600/small_DSC_0103_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || baked banana bread from reclaimed bananas" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TUO5GycMZyg/XdoNkMrB5iI/AAAAAAAAHT4/MzA1MB7I9tYpcvbxesdFQ_8hs5gLtTnAQCEwYBhgL/s1600/small_DSC_0103_edited.jpg" title="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || baked banana bread from reclaimed bananas" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Anything not eaten ends up in the compost or cooked up. A small treat of lemon myrtle leaves from a produce swap earlier in the month was infused in vodka to make a botanical cocktail. Saved mandarin skins that were left to dry have been blitzed in the herb grinder and will be <a href="http://local-lovely.com/mandarin-fennel-salt-blood-orange-shrub/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">used when baking this Christmas</span></b></a>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S4dbh5GqreE/XdoNkFS7uUI/AAAAAAAAHT0/NpwQEcbwFz8nokXzhBOlw6J4RQPALowhgCEwYBhgL/s1600/small_DSC_0101_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || twined string from bread bags" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S4dbh5GqreE/XdoNkFS7uUI/AAAAAAAAHT0/NpwQEcbwFz8nokXzhBOlw6J4RQPALowhgCEwYBhgL/s1600/small_DSC_0101_edited.jpg" title="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || twined string from bread bags" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
At night, my hands are busy twining string from washed and reclaimed bread bags and I am itching to pick up a knitting project with a fine fingering weight: something cool enough to knit with in the coming summer. Maybe Santa will bring me a little yarn.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YPA90bWZgPA/XdoNkYFPgLI/AAAAAAAAHT8/O9y6HX11MmkvRk3GaZKSygFGsejVoH5CACEwYBhgL/s1600/small_DSC_0105_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || silk scarf from the op shop" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YPA90bWZgPA/XdoNkYFPgLI/AAAAAAAAHT8/O9y6HX11MmkvRk3GaZKSygFGsejVoH5CACEwYBhgL/s1600/small_DSC_0105_edited.jpg" title="www.katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || silk scarf from the op shop" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And visits to the op shops are netting tiny treasures for a coin or two. A $2 silk scarf, light as a feather, but big enough to throw around my neck on a cooler than usual spring evening; pull back a fringe that I am growing out, or even throw over a table or tray for pretty <a href="https://www.creative-culinary.com/the-gimlet-cocktail/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">cocktail hour</span></b></a> decor.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
How are you going? Are you pacing yourself too?</div>
Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-3909923784374682762019-11-03T16:38:00.005+11:002019-11-03T16:38:46.702+11:00I'VE DONE IT... OCTOBERI forgot my poor old blog and monthly 'I've Done It' post, and thus am posting three days late. I've <a href="https://www.facebook.com/katiecrackernuts/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">not posted to Facebook much</span></b></a> either. Truth be told, I don't love Facebook and I forget about it too, until it rudely prompts me to post to, or even visit my page.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yaThxB_BTW8/Xb5dv-6cuUI/AAAAAAAAHSI/QvBH2UPS15s_m_B2j8g2dxGXQLc6DvbNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0086_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yaThxB_BTW8/Xb5dv-6cuUI/AAAAAAAAHSI/QvBH2UPS15s_m_B2j8g2dxGXQLc6DvbNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0086_edited.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
I am more an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/katiecrackernut/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Instagram kinda girl</span></b></a>, and like so of the blogging community, find the conversations and interactions there like a shorter, speedier version of what blogging was like back in the day.<br />
<br />
So apologies I forgot my poor little blog this month. I hope you're well, and all caught up.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>IN OCTOBER:</b></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I WENT TO...</span></b> Harden and Murrumburrah in the <a href="https://www.visithilltopsregion.com.au/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Hilltops Region of southwest NSW</span></b></a> and <a href="https://eurobodalla.com.au/places-to-go/locations-to-visit/moruya/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Moruya</span></b></a>, on the NSW South Coast. I really liked both places, and for similar reasons: mostly what I could see and appreciate of their communities. Commuting life can be a real killer of community involvement. You have to work hard at it, and of late, we've felt the pull of living back in the country. If only there was the work to match our skills.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I ATE...</span></b> Nothing beats the simplicity of a good sandwich. On our road trip down to Moruya we stopped at<b><span style="color: #bf9000;"> <a href="http://www.flourwatersalt.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Flour Water Salt</span></a></span></b> for lunch and had simple sandwiches of cheese and pickles, on yummy sourdough.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I OP SHOPPED...</span></b> The road trip to Moruya was, in reality, an op shopping jaunt. Moruya has one of the best Vinnies I've been in for some time. There was much that I left behind, including a fair dinkum, canvas Paddy Pallin rucksack. It took great strength of will not to bring it home. I <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4G_dIshTxt/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">did come home with</span></b></a> a couple of leather belts, pottery, a little West German pot for the collection, a couple of pairs of jeans that I am yet to alter the hems on, a great denim duffel-like jacket and books on weaving patterns and indoor plants.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I MADE...</span></b> I am back on the potter's wheel - grabbing a chance to book in with the <a href="https://www.ccpotters.org/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Central Coast Potters Society</span></b></a> for another course, mostly for access to a wheel, glazes, tools and a kiln. If I was to find a secondhand potter's wheel, in good working condition, I'd be a happy woman. Then I'd have to find someone with space in their kiln. Know anyone?<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I READ...</span></b> It must be the season for book releases because there are soooo many new books out that I want to read. I read Elizabeth Gilbert's <i><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/01/books/review/elizabeth-gilbert-city-of-girls.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">City of Girls</span></b></a> </i>and Molly Murn's <i><a href="https://www.readings.com.au/review/heart-of-the-grass-tree-by-molly-murn" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Heart of the Grass Tree</span></b></a>.</i><br />
Gilbert's work always, for me, starts off slow and I find that at just the moment I am thinking I'll abandon the plot, it takes off. There are always a few gems from the women narrators of her novels, like this one:<br />
<br />
<i>"After a certain age, we are all walking around this world in bodies made of secrets and shame and sorrow and old, unhealed injuries. Our hearts grow sore and misshapen around all this pain - yet somehow, still, we carry on."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-86733940143531679022019-09-28T20:26:00.000+10:002019-09-28T20:26:22.394+10:00I'VE DONE IT... SEPTEMBERI swear the wind down, or is that up, to the end of the year starts earlier every year. I'm seeing high school graduation photos in my feed, the grand final weekend seems to be a marker to the party season once reserved for Melbourne Cup day and there are signs everywhere that Christmas is coming.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r2NczXQNrB8/XY8zVptxtCI/AAAAAAAAHRM/O9YJdIQ4Uas6kBHro6f-SU2vqjgVf5FiACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0146_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || spring daffodils" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r2NczXQNrB8/XY8zVptxtCI/AAAAAAAAHRM/O9YJdIQ4Uas6kBHro6f-SU2vqjgVf5FiACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/small_DSC_0146_edited.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || spring daffodils" /></a></div>
<br />
Is it just me, or are you feeling it too?<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">IN SEPTEMBER:</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I WENT TO...</span></b> Coonamble to visit the grandkidlets and their mum for a weekend. We had grand intentions of taking them all to the Warrumbungles for "a-bencha" - an <i>adventure</i> in five-year-old speak - but the dust storms <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B2p9t3QjYPa/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">plaguing Central West NSW</span></b></a> right now kept us from stepping out. Our "a-bencha" will have to wait until our next trip.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I ATE...</b></span> A pretty fine Turkish breakfast at <a href="http://www.thewalrus.com.au/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">The Walrus</span></b></a>, not far from where I work in Sydney. Seriously, how much of a treat is a bang-up breakfast before work? I should do it more often.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I OP SHOPPED...</span></b> A funky mid-century woven chandelier; an old <i>Life</i> magazine cook book; and a few wardrobe bits and bobs, including an '80s denim shirt, skirt, glass beads necklace and silver earrings with turquoise set in.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I MADE... </b></span>tie-dyed socks and recycled paper. I ran a friend's Girl Guide unit through September while she travelled and we went with a spring theme. Our first week was spring fashion: making tie-dyed socks. The second week we made recycled paper sheets to write invitations for a spring picnic later in the month. The third week we potted up flowering seedlings and made newspaper pots and planted pumpkin and sunflower seeds. The last week we made pizzas from scratch, using this <a href="https://www.melskitchencafe.com/quick-and-easy-pizza-dough/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">quick-rise recipe</span></b></a> for the dough and <a href="https://www.melskitchencafe.com/homemade-pizza-sauce/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">this recipe for the tomato sauce</span></b></a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I READ...</b></span> <i>The Testaments</i>. Have you read this new work from Margaret Atwood? I don't want to say too much. If you loved <i>The Handmaid's Tale</i>, as I did, as well as the series, I simply don't want to drop a spoiler. I haven't even linked to a review here, I think they all say too much. Look away and put a hand up to anyone who wants to talk about it until you've had a chance yourself.Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-80292162085101908482019-08-27T20:46:00.002+10:002019-08-29T16:21:23.414+10:00I'VE DONE IT... AUGUSTWith the last few days of winter trying to make themselves known in my parts of the world, I am taking every opportunity to enjoy the last of winter feasting.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NXNk_fS5To4/XWT_3Q9mNlI/AAAAAAAAHOs/P5-BGIyfkGwG2wpMbs2zsBqtiEDPXgGXACLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || rhubarb and blood orange crumble from Maggie Beer's Table" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NXNk_fS5To4/XWT_3Q9mNlI/AAAAAAAAHOs/P5-BGIyfkGwG2wpMbs2zsBqtiEDPXgGXACLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0033.JPG" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || rhubarb and blood orange crumble from Maggie Beer's Table" /></a></div>
<br />
That includes making Maggie Beer's rhubarb and blood orange crumbles and possibly this weekend, on the nudge of Jan, a regular reader of my blog, marmalade for spreading thick on hot buttered sourdough toast.<br />
<br />
Are you still enjoying winter fare or are you busting for summer dining?<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>IN AUGUST:</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I WENT TO...</b></span> Melbourne. It was a lightning visit for work. I wish I could say I did more and saw more. I also camped on Taronga Zoo's concert lawns with 800 Girl Guides for the organisation's annual Zoo Sleepout.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I ATE AT...</span></b> Our new local, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theferryman.davistown/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>The Ferryman</b></span></a>. I had the clam bake and it was deeeeeeee-licious, made all the better by a lovely shiraz and the knowledge of a stumble home had we wanted to kick on past a single glass.<br />
<br />
While in Melbourne, I stayed close to work in North Melbourne and also ate close by, meaning I frequented <a href="https://www.theparkvillestore.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Parkville Store</span></b></a> for breakfasts; <a href="http://www.naughtonshotel.com.au/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Naughtons Hotel</span></b></a> for easy after-work drinks and snacks; and <a href="http://www.auctionroomscafe.com.au/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Auction Rooms</span></b></a>, as recommended by a colleague, for lunch with a friend.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I OP SHOPPED...</span></b> A 1950s black wool suit with pencil skirt and the most beautifully cut jacket. The collar, with rouched wool detailing, circles the shoulders, but modestly doesn't show them, just hinting at a collarbone.<br />
<br />
Being black, it's hard to photograph, and before I do, it'll need a little stitch here and there to hold the rouching in place where it's come away.<br />
<br />
I always wonder at the previous owner. The suit showed no signs of regular wear and surprisingly didn't hold the smell of mothballs or worse, cigarettes, so my best guess is it was worn by a woman my age or younger, given the length of the skirt and its tiny waist, to a funeral. Like a wedding gown, it was bought and worn for an occasion and could neither be thrown out, nor worn again.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I MADE...</span></b> I am a few finishing stitches from <a href="http://instagram.com/p/BWYSJD4A7Y2/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>finishing this cardigan</b></span></a>. It's only been two-plus years in the making.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I READ...</span></b> through the stack of overdue library books on my bedside table, starting with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/12/queenie-candice-carty-williams-review" target="_blank"><i><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Queenie</span></b></i></a>, by Candice Carty-Williams; <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21401526-dark-emu" target="_blank"><b><i><span style="color: #bf9000;">Dark Emu</span></i></b></a>, by Bruce Pascoe; <b><span style="color: #bf9000;"><i>A Woman is No Man</i></span></b>, by Etaf Rum; and,<br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/23/sofie-laguna-wins-miles-franklin-prize-for-her-novel-the-eye-of-the-sheep" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;">The Eye of the Sheep</span></a></i></b>, by Sofie Laguna.<br />
<br />
The book to add to your bookshelf is <i>Dark Emu</i>. It should be read by every Australian and is an anthem not only for Indigenous recognition and acknowledgement of Indigenous culture, language and science, but it's an important book to read in the midst of an unprecedented and inescapable climate crisis.Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-32022720056453551372019-08-16T13:34:00.001+10:002019-08-16T13:34:26.761+10:00AROUND HERE | SCENES FROM AN ALMOST-SPRING WEEKENDI have seeds from a long red chilli drying in a bowl on a window shelf. Mandarin and orange peel is drying on the kitchen bench. Empty egg shell cartons are being stacked ready for a sprinkling of spring and summer seeds.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2tvVmtG6xFM/XVXneWHEndI/AAAAAAAAHOQ/pintx5fKByk10VbLMspA_fcVAEkwSNDTgCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0028_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || saved long red chilli seeds ready to be planted into the garden" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2tvVmtG6xFM/XVXneWHEndI/AAAAAAAAHOQ/pintx5fKByk10VbLMspA_fcVAEkwSNDTgCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0028_edited.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || saved long red chilli seeds ready to be planted into the garden" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-icHraQ3FALg/XVXmZAfP02I/AAAAAAAAHOE/Kmiz7H6sd1oxZEJDLXOVK5x9QVim-q2eACLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0040_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || olive mellor writing the garden lovers log for red cross" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-icHraQ3FALg/XVXmZAfP02I/AAAAAAAAHOE/Kmiz7H6sd1oxZEJDLXOVK5x9QVim-q2eACLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0040_edited.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || olive mellor writing the garden lovers log for red cross" /></a></div>
<br />
There's a garden hand fork jutting from soil at the back and front doors for an impromptu five minutes of weeding. Sprigs of fallen wattle or the dried remains of gifted bouquets fill posy vases and jars, and garden guides and seed catalogues adorn the coffee table.<br />
<br />
My favourite gardening reads are the P.J. Hurley's This Week in Your Garden, a compilation of newspaper gardening columns from the 1950s, and The Garden Lover's Log, with monthly notes from Olive Mellor, written in 1940 and sold as a fundraiser for Red Cross.<br />
<br />
For August, the recommendations are to plant seeds for spring and summer flowers, including antirrhinum (better known to us as snapdragons), aster, ageratum, begonia, carnation, clarkia, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=didiscus&rlz=1C1CHFX_enAU748AU748&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiq-eDkt4bkAhUHWX0KHYCqCkMQ_AUIESgB&biw=1366&bih=657" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">didiscus</span></b></a>, gaillardia, godetia, African and French marigolds, nasturtiums, petunia, phlox, pyrethrum, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHFX_enAU748AU748&biw=1366&bih=657&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=cSFWXdWNF8349QOxraH4BA&q=scabious&oq=scabious&gs_l=img.3..0j0i10l9.7048.7048..7317...0.0..0.191.191.0j1......0....2j1..gws-wiz-img.kQPS6NyX76Y&ved=0ahUKEwiVirH-t4bkAhVNfH0KHbFWCE8Q4dUDCAY&uact=5" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">scabious</span></b></a>, verbena and zinnia.<br />
<br />
For the vegetable patch, the seed recommendations are broad beans, cabbage, carrot, celery, leek, lettuce, onions ("for spring onions only"), peas, potatoes and turnips.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1-4qHDIJjiA/XVXnZU1OAZI/AAAAAAAAHOM/YpkoE8t18a4hhXSaE5rUHiBCPl9600TyACEwYBhgL/s1600/small_DSC_0029_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || dried remnants of gifted bouquets in a thrifted pottery vase" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1-4qHDIJjiA/XVXnZU1OAZI/AAAAAAAAHOM/YpkoE8t18a4hhXSaE5rUHiBCPl9600TyACEwYBhgL/s1600/small_DSC_0029_edited.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || dried remnants of gifted bouquets in a thrifted pottery vase" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: left;">This weekend, I'll move from pruning, weeding, mulching and readying garden beds to digging in potatoes and setting seed.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Enjoy the rest of your 'almost spring' weekend</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'll happily trade <b><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-14/the-geelong-cafe-turning-excess-backyard-produce-into-currency/11278926" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;">garden produce for a cuppa</span></a></b></span><br />
<b><a href="https://au.whogivesacrap.org/products/the-play-edition" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Play with your poo paper</span></a></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-17/how-climate-change-is-affecting-what-we-grow-and-eat/11303450" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">farmers are doing to save our bacon</span></b></a> (okay, maybe just dinner)</span><br />
<a href="https://kellygibney.com/home/2019/7/20/olive-oil-yoghurt-lemon-honey-and-rosemary-tea-cake" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All my favourite flavours in a cake</span></b></a>Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-34847394055771741962019-07-31T00:00:00.000+10:002019-07-31T00:00:02.704+10:00I'VE DONE IT... JULYCan you feel it? Can you feel spring on its way? Even though it's the middle of winter, I am already thinking about planting out spring seeds and how I'll keep water up to new growth.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymV4gOm2w2M/XT1_KZDuLMI/AAAAAAAAHNE/Ogc4VvuMqGEzjKBOb0dVvivUnx01DTbMgCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || dry wild areas of Spain" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymV4gOm2w2M/XT1_KZDuLMI/AAAAAAAAHNE/Ogc4VvuMqGEzjKBOb0dVvivUnx01DTbMgCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0051.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || dry wild areas of Spain" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
There's a jug next to the kitchen sink to catch what water we can and buckets in the shower to water trees already showing the signs of water stress. I know the forecast and I know it's not good, but even so, I am looking to signs of what the garden can tolerate, taking cues from the Spanish countryside we walked through in a warm spring just a few months ago and now, no doubt, sweltering under record heatwave temperatures. We'll have the same here in just a few short months and I am walking the garden every week, looking at what will stay and what will need to go.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>IN JULY:</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I WENT TO...</b></span> I didn't stray far from home this month. Rather, I've been enjoying this gorgeous, although dry, winter weather. It was 22C at home today: t-shirt weather when you're in the garden.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I ATE...</b></span> at the Patonga Hotel. It's not the first time I've eaten there, but on a glorious winter's day, there's nothing better to spend time with friends, walking from Pearl Beach to brunch at the hotel. Breakfast is served until 11.30am, and it's an extensive, <a href="https://www.theboathousehotelpatonga.com.au/menus" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">brunchy kinda menu</span></b></a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I OP SHOPPED...</b></span> Now that we're staying put and not moving into our teeny, tiny unit, I've ventured into op shops empty handed and brought home a few small treasures, including a stash of American <a href="https://www.cooksillustrated.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;"><i>Cook's Illustrated</i> magazines</span></b></a> from the 1990s that I'll read before returning.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I MADE...</b></span> I finished sewing in the ends and working the seams on a knitted vest and have started a toe-up socks pattern: my first attempt at two-at-a-time, toe-up socks. I can see that once you get the hang of the entanglement of wool and circular needles, they can be quite addictive.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I READ...</span></b> That stack of books from last month isn't getting any smaller, though I have made my way through a couple and gave up on others, happily taking them back to the local library.Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-88465005626135897002019-07-13T17:21:00.003+10:002019-07-13T17:21:41.240+10:00SIGNS OF AN AUSSIE COASTAL WINTERNow that's what I call brisk. It's chilly out there, but that makes it perfect for staying in, slugging olive oil and salt over root vegetables and popping something gooey and full of brown sugar on the stove.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nd8qhr_lPYs/XSmCAC73NAI/AAAAAAAAHL0/5AxqAfWY5VIn9pSGSFQJy1IJ7HOgiCCxgCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || roasted root vegetables" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nd8qhr_lPYs/XSmCAC73NAI/AAAAAAAAHL0/5AxqAfWY5VIn9pSGSFQJy1IJ7HOgiCCxgCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0296.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || roasted root vegetables" /></a></div>
<br />
Last year, about the same time, I <a href="https://katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com/2018/07/how-i-know-its-middle-of-winter.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">listed all the things that winter meant to me</span></b></a>. This year, the crepe myrtle leaves fell earlier and the first of the spring bulbs has already flowered, but much is the same, with a few additions I noted this week.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Christmas plans are already being talked about</li>
<li>With Christmas planning comes talk of summer holidays</li>
<li>With the winter solstice almost a month behind us, the sun's starting to come up that little bit earlier</li>
<li>I am knitting</li>
<li>Roast vegetables are on high rotation </li>
<li>Violets are flowering</li>
<li>Leaf buds are forming on the pomegranate</li>
<li>I am padding around the house in thick socks</li>
<li>Wool throws and blankets drape beds and couches</li>
<li>Clothing stores are spruiking 'end of season' sales</li>
</ol>
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Enjoy the rest of your chilly weekend</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-10/the-unlikely-friendship-that-spans-continents-and-decades/11292318" target="_blank"><b>The gift of a flower</b></a></i></span><br />
<b><a href="https://fundraise.redcross.org.au/baby-hub" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Sewing machines to stitch strength</i></span></a></b><br />
<b><a href="https://vinegarhillhouse.ticketleap.com/levi-fundraiser/details" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Are potters protesting here?</i></span></a></b><br />
<b><a href="https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/44262008824544485/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Four-ingredient gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate fudge cake</i></span></a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://thehousethatlarsbuilt.com/2017/08/paper-chain-wall-hanging.html/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>You'll want to make paper chains again</i></span></a></b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>July 13, 2019</i></div>
Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-66228598458674480332019-06-30T14:21:00.000+10:002019-06-30T14:21:18.437+10:00I'VE DONE IT... JUNEI love this time of year. It's a time for curling inward and making a nest where you can reflect and recharge. There's cosy places to be, big wide skies and for the brave, crisp mornings to crunch across frosty verges.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bgYDoYScTsg/XRgvKB8s23I/AAAAAAAAHLE/Wri-jRN4mKQWJyf8ZxZb8erDWn89VBH8gCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || Carcoar Rugby Club field on a frosty winter day" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bgYDoYScTsg/XRgvKB8s23I/AAAAAAAAHLE/Wri-jRN4mKQWJyf8ZxZb8erDWn89VBH8gCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0194.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || Carcoar Rugby Club field on a frosty winter day" /></a></div>
<br />
While my days close to home have been more heavy dew than a crunchy, silvery frost, there have been blanketing fogs hovering just above the inland waters and in the folds of the valleys I pass through and over on my commute to work. It's dark when I leave, and when I come home, but now the Winter Solstice has passed, week-by-week the sun pulls closer and I spy a little more light toward the coast as I watch for the morning's ferry to round the point.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>IN JUNE:</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I WENT TO...</b></span> Carcoar, in the Central West of NSW. The town is described as Australia's most '<a href="https://www.carcoar.com.au/"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">intact historic village</span></b></a>'. It's about 30mins from Bathurst, which makes it easily accessible from Sydney and I reckon the place is about to take off as a country destination to visit. The Royal Hotel is being refurbished and I heard on the village grapevine a new chef is about to start there. There's a cafe on the corner of the main street about to open and a lovely homewares store and workshop venue across the road, with a cute coffee nook adjacent.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I ATE...</b></span> While visiting Carcoar, we made a reservation at <a href="https://www.tonicmillthorpe.com.au/"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Tonic</span></b></a>, in nearby Milthorpe. As you can imagine, the menu makes the best of the regional produce and I am always blown away by how good the dining is in this part of Australia.<br />
<br />
Equally well known for its use of seasonal produce is <a href="https://www.bellsatkillcare.com.au/restaurant-and-bar"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Bells at Killcare</span></b></a>. We ate here earlier in the month courtesy of a Christmas gift, and it was such a treat to cosy up with a glass of wine and three beautiful courses.<br />
<br />
The two dining experiences got us thinking about all the really memorable meals we've eaten, mostly because as beautiful as the food and experience was at Tonic and Bells at Killcare, a few weeks later when trying to recall the dishes we'd chosen, neither of us could remember each course.<br />
<br />
Rather, the memorable meals of years past was often because of who we were with, the occasion or the place.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I OP SHOPPED...</b></span> I made a couple of dedicated op shopping trips this month to update my winter wardrobe and, boy, was I handsomely rewarded for <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByfM_vRhEYO/"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">digging through those op shop racks</span></b></a>. I've worn most of my finds now, including <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/By9rzA8hsYR/" style="color: #bf9000; font-weight: bold;">this glorious Ken Done jumper</a> and am having a lot of fun mixing them up with what's already in my closet.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I MADE...</span></b> a committed effort not to start any new projects and concentrate on what's half done and waiting to be finished. Last night that saw me weaving in the ends of a knitted vest and knitting one of the two armhole bands. I've got another band to knit and some seaming to do and that one will be done. There's a whole other knitted cardigan that I've been putting off finishing, mostly because of the enormity of the band that needs to be added around the front and across the neck. It's nearly 200 stitches. Sheesh.<br />
<br />
<b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I READ... </b><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have a bedside table groaning under the weight of books, all of them with bookmarks sticking out in places, but I've not managed to finish anything this past month. I need to pick one up and just keep at it, then move to the next, then the next. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>MOVING UPDATE:</b></span> We're housebound and won't be moving to our little unit any time soon. The quotes to repair everything in one go are sizable, and there's a bunch of other family reasons we're not making the move just yet, or perhaps never. For the moment we're renewing things to a livable standard to put the place back on the rental market. It's a blow, but it's the way we've decided to go.Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-23886631593060731552019-06-16T10:46:00.001+10:002019-07-13T16:18:07.901+10:00NO WASTE LEFTOVER VEGGIES WINTER-WARMING SOUPWinter's for soups, stews, gratins, roasts, bakes and puddings. It's for the warm smell of having something delicious on the stove or the oven. It's for having leftovers of the good no-fuss-dinner-or-lunch kind, not the rotting-in-the-bottom-of-your crisper kind.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CLS-h775XlA/XQWMJf_iC0I/AAAAAAAAHKM/OgtLIwIx5a8Tx_ttGgjSqA72fRFaPx_FQCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0031_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || no waste leftover veggies winter warming soup" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CLS-h775XlA/XQWMJf_iC0I/AAAAAAAAHKM/OgtLIwIx5a8Tx_ttGgjSqA72fRFaPx_FQCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0031_edited.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || no waste leftover veggies winter warming soup" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: left;">But, try as you might, there always seems to be leftover veggies in the bottom of a crisper, doesn't there. Mine held celery, broccoli and a half gnawed at sweet potato. With a few pantry staples it's easy to stop the waste and add a hearty meal for weekday work lunches or an easy Sunday supper. My addition of lentils to thicken the soup, as well as jalapeno, cumin and orange zest for a little kick, lifts this soup out of the ordinary.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SpiPtCT3TjA/XQWMcY9EVnI/AAAAAAAAHKU/U2SwREwg3AcOuqkIZcDN0tjfgTov5TP7wCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0035_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || how to make soup from wilted waste food" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SpiPtCT3TjA/XQWMcY9EVnI/AAAAAAAAHKU/U2SwREwg3AcOuqkIZcDN0tjfgTov5TP7wCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0035_edited.jpg" title="katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || how to make soup from wilted waste food" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SpiPtCT3TjA/XQWMcY9EVnI/AAAAAAAAHKU/U2SwREwg3AcOuqkIZcDN0tjfgTov5TP7wCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0035_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #990000;">NO WASTE, LEFTOVER VEGGIES SOUP</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">INGREDIENTS</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">About three cups of cut leftover veggies, even leftover baked veggies. My choice was a limp head of broccoli, about half a tuber of sweet potato and about a quarter of a bunch of wilted celery.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Enough vegetable or chicken stock to cover the cut vegetables and an inch over that. About a litre served me well.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A diced onion</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Three cloves chopped garlic</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Two to three teaspoons of freshly grated ginger</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One sliced jalapeno</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A teaspoon of orange zest</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Half a cup of dried red lentils</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A knob of butter (about 30g) and a good splosh of olive oil (a tablespoon)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Shake of cumin (two teaspoons)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>METHOD</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Gently heat the butter and olive oil, add the diced onion, the garlic and ginger and gently fry off until it's soft and translucent and smelling delicious. Add the cumin, the jalapeno, the zest and the red lentils and coat in the butter and oil. Add all the vegetable and toss in the butter, oil and other ingredients, frying off for a minute or two until the celery starts to soften. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Pop on a lid and allow to gently simmer until the vegetables are all soft - at the stage where you can use a blender to bring the soup together. Blend and enjoy warm with a toasty chunk of hot-buttered bread.</span></div>
Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140793231291981444.post-64381040248583070512019-06-09T21:12:00.002+10:002019-06-09T21:12:54.373+10:00A WINTER WARDROBE UPDATE FROM THE OP SHOPSIt's been a good haul at the op shops this weekend. I needed to update my wardrobe and a long weekend at home meant I had the time to trawl shops beyond my usual haunts.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qt_D3FdCE4U/XPzXCQbq-KI/AAAAAAAAHI4/02FrGBviC8EzHEBKJDSfUp75RxYRuqSRQCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0018_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="katiecraczkernuts.blogspot.com || vintage knits and winter pieces from the op shops" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qt_D3FdCE4U/XPzXCQbq-KI/AAAAAAAAHI4/02FrGBviC8EzHEBKJDSfUp75RxYRuqSRQCLcBGAs/s1600/small_DSC_0018_edited.jpg" title="katiecraczkernuts.blogspot.com || vintage knits and winter pieces from the op shops" /></a></div>
<br />
My top scores were a woollen Ken Done jumper for $10, a cream leather skirt for $3.50 and a pair of black vintage Levi's for $15. I also added a wool skirt, hand-knitted wool beret, sparkly purple stretch skirt and a similarly luminous gold top for $26 between them - all up, a little more than $50.<br />
<br />
I love how they all work together too: the jumper and the long knit purple skirt; the jeans and the gold top; and that yellow beret goes with it all.<br />
<br />
I've aired those that need airing, washed those that need washing and as always, am amazed at the endurance of well-made pieces, some of my finds are easily 30 years old.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Enjoy the rest of your long weekend, and a few interesting links...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <b><a href="http://www.saylittlehen.com/2019/04/porridge-days.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Are you still having 'porridge days'</i></span></a></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90359188/the-next-big-thing-in-fashion-not-washing-your-clothes" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000;">I get about three days for most items</span></a></b></i></span><br />
<b><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-05/miss-fury-the-most-famous-superhero-youve-never-heard-of/10777988" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Older than Wonder Woman</i></span></a></b><br />
<b><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/life/ways-to-improve-daily-commute/10238204"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>How do you use your commute?</i></span></a></b><br />
<a href="https://us.cnn.com/2019/06/04/entertainment/punky-brewster-reboot/index.html"><b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>For the '80s wardrobe alone</i></span></b></a>Kate Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731006032499344619noreply@blogger.com