Soap From SSG, Some Blog Recognition, Introducing The Hunter Gatherers

We have had a great few days. On Tuesday The Farmer picked up the mail whilst he was back at The Farm for some meetings (we are still doing lots of admin, even on holiday).  He came back with a parcel. For me.  Yay!  I love a good parcel (particularly one I didn't purchase for myself on the internet...)  The lovely Sydney Shop Girl had sent me a special prize I won in her giveaway.

The most exciting thing about this parcel was its smell. It  smelt gorgeous and Nanna-like before I even opened it.  Regular readers of this blog will know about my strong inner-Nanna.  Hence a parcel that smelt of scented soap was always going to be a hit.  Even The Farmer liked it, his ute now smells lovely after driving with the parcel in the cab, just like a Nanna's bathroom only without the crocheted loo roll covers...

When I opened the parcel it was even more exciting.  SSG had also sent me some extra gifts for The Farmchildren.  Thanks SSG, they were super excited.  Keep an eye on your mail box, something from The Farm will come through post holiday, I promise.

Gorgeous Special Nanna Soap, Perfect For Knicker Drawers

In other happy news I was quickly checking my blog comments on Tuesday night when I saw that the lovely Allison at Life In A Pink Fibro had mentioned me in her Australia Day Honours Blog list.  I was completely thrilled by this, as I have loads of respect for Allison.  Her blog is fantastic and she writes beautifully.  It made my day, Allison, thank you.

We also had some really good friends arrive on Tuesday evening to spend Australia Day with us.  They have given me permission to include them in my blog and we spent some interesting time coming up with suitable identities...  He is an excellent SCUBA diver and catches lots of crayfish and stuff, so I have decided on Hunter Gatherer, Mrs Hunter Gatherer and HG Boy.

Anyway Hunter Gatherer, HG Boy and The Farmer went diving on Australia Day morning and came back with some of these.

Fresh Crayfish

Hunter Gatherer and Mrs Hunter Gatherer used them to make the best seafood pizza ever.  I should have taken a photo but forgot (I was celebrating Australia Day with a couple of glasses of Tasmanian bubbly and this always plays havoc with my photo taking).  The Hunter Gatherers are brilliant cooks and are responsible for my best seafood recipes.  Hunter Gatherer was the one who put me onto the cray marinade in my last crustacean related blog post...

All in all we have had a fantastic few days.  Our holiday is drawing to its end but I am feeling ready to get back to The Farm and get stuck into what is going to be a huge year.

2011 Here We Come

As sometimes happens our quiet New Year's Eve got hijacked by some friends and turned into a much bigger night than was planned.  The Farmer is still in bed and looks like he may be there for sometime...

We had a great evening.  Some friends plus a neighbour (who just happened to be passing by at about 6pm) spent the evening at The Beach House with us.  We sat under the back verandah and drank champagne and ate seafood.  I went to bed at the very respectable time of 12.45am.  At this point I decided discretion was the better part of valour.  This was a decision I was super glad of at about 7am when The Farmchildren woke up.    I can honestly say I don't know what time The Farmer came to bed. That's OK - I asked him and apparently he doesn't know either...

Our evening started with these excellent nibbles...

Nibbles For New Year's Eve At The Beach House

I made some yummy crayfish.  I will post the recipe on another day. (I am seriously considering a whole post devoted to "The Western Rock Lobster"!!)

I love it when a low key evening spontaneously turns into a great party.  Some of my best New Year's Eves have been in that vein.  The reverse being also true, sometimes when I have had huge plans I have been disappointed.

I have been reading lots of blog posts and really enjoyed seeing others resolutions and recaps of 2010.  I haven't really made any huge resolutions for 2011.

This is for a couple of reasons.  The first being that I often make plans and they get thrown completely awry by life, the universe, whatever...

The second being that unfortunately I suffered some health issues in 2011 that resulted in lots of time in hospital and surgery etc.  They are resolved now but have left me thinking that just being myself, being  healthy and spending lots of time with my family and friends will be more than enough for me in 2011.

Happy New Year Everyone!

The House Paddock

Arrival of Country Style At The Beach

It is calm and peaceful here now.  We had an absolutely fantastic few days with The Beach House choc a block with people.  So much food, champagne, fun and lots of beach time.  Now, as the weather has cooled a little and the guests have left, I can feel myself starting to relax.  Which is good.  The lead up to Christmas was crazy busy for our family and I think we all need some down time.

The Beach House is in a crayfishing town not too far from The Farm.   I must be honest and say I love being a town dweller for a little while.  When you live in the middle of nowhere and cook every meal your family eats, something as simple as a fish and chip shop seems extremely luxurious.  I even relish being able to food shop every day, and buy on whim, rather than doing the mammoth food shops I do when we are at home on The Farm.

The Farmer and the male half of the extended family went fishing yesterday. They didn't catch a huge number of fish but there was plenty for dinner.

Blue Boned Groper In Front, Pink Snapper Behind

Today I had a quiet wander around the local shops.  Having a house full had made me realise The Beach House was a bit light on in the mug department. Nothing is more annoying than having to wash a cup when you want a coffee...

There is a gorgeous kitchen shop in town and I popped in and found these.

Lovely Stripy Mugs

I love having lots of colour in The Beach House.  I know the lovely lady who owns the kitchen shop.  I met her a couple of years ago when I had to stock out The Beach House kitchen.  She was really helpful at the time and gave me lots of freebies.  Anyway, today when I went in and picked up these mugs she smiled and commented that she had thought of me when she stocked them!  I took this as a strong sign from the Shopping Gods.  So the coffee mugs are now living happily in the cupboard.

I also found the latest Country Style at the News Agent.  Like the blog it seems to have adopted a beachy theme for January.

Country Style

The cover shows a beautiful table near a stunning bay.  I would love to sit there and have a nice peaceful cup of coffee.  I think I would be a tiny bit worried about snakes biting my ankles though as there is an abundance of windswept coastal grass....  That's OK - if I am imaging my dream beachside afternoon I will just imagine the snakes away.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful few days holiday and that you are all happily winding down after Christmas.

Take care.

Crazy Fish

How lucky are we?  Some friends of ours were at the coast on the weekend and caught some crayfish (lobster to all you non-Western Australians).  They cooked them up last night and have given them to us for our dinner.

Yummy And Very Fresh Crays

The Farmchildren sometimes call them crazy fish and Farmgirl in particular is a huge fan.  She has already spotted them in the fridge...

I am a big fan of the less is more approach to very fresh seafood. We will have them with a salad and cold boiled potatoes.  Then we will have mangoes for pudding. Yum.

It will be almost like we are here.

The Coast

Which is never a bad place to be.