Saturday, January 26

Memories

Yesterday was Australia Day, 26th January. After the sun burned off the heavy thick fog, it was a fine day, a little humid, but sunny with light clouds.

Jet planes flew overhead, taking 5 years off my life, with the noise! It sounded as if they were about to land on the house. I don't think the dogs had time to react.

We didn't do anything particularly patriotic, like throw the thong- footwear, not the other type- or host a Barbie. Our BBQ fell to pieces some time ago, & since neither Gom nor I are fond of cremated meats, we never bothered to replace it. Towards the end of it's life, it only got used about once a year. That usually meant the gas bottle was empty, having leaked the contents since the last time of use, I suppose.

We manage to cater quite well without the BBQ. Gom has a Deep Fryer that he likes to use with flair. He loves his electrical gadgets, & has many, of the kitchen variety, that he desired. Not all of them get used. Partially my fault I suppose. I dont like Popcorn, & the kids are not here that often. I keep meaning to make the waffle batter, but forget. He stopped making milkshakes when our Granddaughter moved out.

There is an Icecream maker-- such a pain to use, & takes such a lot of space. Now we have a chest freezer, he would have plenty of space, but he is apt to sneak beer in there, when I am not looking, to get a quick cold batch, if friends come over.

There is a Bread Maker. That was a big hit for a while. Then the Pantry Moths got into the mix, & we rather went off the idea of a fridge full of mixes. We do have a grill, that we use to cook all our meat. It is a Breville, & we got it new for $5 at a garage sale, to replace our George Foreman, which had lost it's teflon coating. I suppose we ate it, along with bacon etc, & never knew. I am sure we will have teflon in our bodies for ever now. We actually like the Breville better, & the coating seems to be staying put. It is great for eliminating fat from the meats.

There is a Cafe Press. That used to get thrashed when our daughter & granddaughter lived with us, & still gets the occasional workout. I don't like bread- well it doesn't like me, & gives me indigestion- so I eat wraps, or Pita bread, quite often, & toast them when I can be bothered.

He also has a Pie maker, which is fine, but the cutting of the pastry to fit the dishes is a pain in the...


Here is a the sky on the eve of Australia Day.


I don't know that there were any parties nearby, today. The Noisy Neighbour-dog had his own frenzied barking party, & later the kids were out with a ball, but apart from that it was a quiet day. It is a long weekend, so we are having a bit of a gathering here this afternoon. We have invited friends, & family.


I went out yesterday, into the wilderness that is the front garden at present . It was rather like being in a steamy jungle, with all the green, vigorous growth from all the rain we have been getting. The Ginger is flowering, & I tried to get some good photos of the pretty flowers.

I hadn't realised before, what a delicate perfume the flowers have. They are prettier in real life than they look in these photos. The yellow is brighter, & the stamen are quite orangey red.


The Ginger may have been a mistake, it is tending to run amok. I found a lovely little green frog on the leaves one day, & now when I cut it back, I am cautious.


There is a woody overgrown purple Budleia, which I believe attracts butterflies, but I can never see any, though they fly over our backyard in quick flight on their way to something attractive. They never seem to stop & I cannot get a photo of one of them.
This our Cycad, which has really enjoyed the rain, & has grown new leaves surprisingly quickly, recently. I love the fact that these plants are prehistoric relics, & have been here since the dinosaurs roamed among them.

When we bought this, it was such a tiny little plant, I wondered that it might not survive. It seems happy in the wild disorderly garden of ours.
I began this post last night. I had phoned a relative I had been meaning to call for some time. She was having her dinner, & rang me back later. We talked for some time, & it was quite late when I got off the phone.
I went back to doing this post, & had added a photo of some forgotten old rellie's wedding.
Next thing I knew Gom was roaring at me to wake up!!
In the shock & blur, I must have deleted the old Rellie Wedding pic, so that will have to be for another day!
I guess you know you are addicted to the computer when you can just fall asleep whilst posting!!
Seals & Croft, East of Ginger Trees.






20 comments:

Tanya Brown said...

Once again, you have captured the essence of the silliness that is mankind. Many of those appliances are nice if they're going to be used frequently. Otherwise, they languish in one's cupboard or garage, taking up valuable space and quietly rusting.

I'm half-convinced that many of them were invented just so people could have new and exciting gifts to give to newlyweds. Chocolate fountains, for example. Who on this planet, other than perhaps someone who gives parties frequently, needs a fountain that shoots out molten chocolate?

It sounds as though Noisy Neighbour-dog had a nice Australia Day celebration. Here's to those who persevered and established a wonderful country after being tossed on boats to points unknown and enduring starvation and the raucous singing of Kookaburras.

meggie said...

Tanya, for goodness sake don't tell Gom about chocolate fountains, or he will want one of those!
I rather like the cackle of the Kookaburras, but can see that early settlers must have thought there were mad women going insane, hidden in the trees!
Incidentally, when they call it usually means rain will arrive. One legend of the Abgoriginals said it meant the 'Missus'on a station was pregnant. I'll bet some of those pioneer women would dread the sound, if that was the case.

Mike said...

Kitchen gadgetry. Don't even get me started. Over the years I have thrown out so many things that we bought for the kitchen. Everything from ice cream makers that we used one time to cute little grilled sandwich makers. We waste so much money on junk.

Catalyst said...

Meggie - Sounds like you need a new computer. One with an airbag! [big grin]

Ali Honey said...

Wild Ginger plant is on the noxious weeds list here in BOP. Things just grow too well.

Belated Happy Australia Day!

Q said...

Happy Australia Day. I did not know. I shall write this down. Nice for you to have a three day weekend.
I am enjoying learning about your country and all the birds and flowers. One of these days a butterfly will land and bask and you can take her picture!
I am very careful on small appliances. My Mother loved them. Every new one that would come out she just had to have it. She was big on irons too. I think when she broke up housekeeping she had four of them. The only new small appliance I do love and use is my rice cooker. It makes fixing dinner a snap.
Sherry

LBA said...

I can't believe you have so many kitchen gadgets !!

I personally hate them - and try to let people know that if it has to be plugged into an electrical outlet, I don't want it !

However, we bought a couple of those Breville "Health Grills" for each of our parentals this Xmas, and they seem to like them ( as long as I don't get something similar in return ! :P )

Joyce said...

I am a gadget kind of person but more in the sewing room than the kitchen. I do love my food processor and use it pretty well every day and my rice cooker. Other than that, I prefer my wok and frying pan. I never got a bread maker because I love the kneading part. Your plants are so different from ours. It's great fun to see them all in bloom while we have all this ice and snow.

Jo said...

Meggie, you're a hoot! You fell asleep blogging? Too funny!

Your pictures are gorgeous. Gosh, I long for summer and the gardens again.

I have never been much of a "gadget" person either. I have a Braun blender. That's it. Oh, and a toaster, which I never use. And an electric can opener, likwise. But I guess they make my kitchen look more "kitcheny". *heh*

What... me cook? Actually, I'm a good cook, I just don't bother.

Happy Australia Day!

Christine Thresh said...

Happy Australia Day (yesterday).

fifi said...

Those ginger blossoms do smell lovely, there are some on one of the paths down to the beach and I like to sniff at them. That other plant is a cycad...I would have one if they werent so expensive!!!!

Youknow, having just arrived back home, I completely forgot about australia day. I thought it was today (monday) so feel quite dumb. We ended up going to a lovely dinner (yes, bbq, so I starved, I dont eat meat)
at some lovely friends over in the posh part of town.
I had to drill my children to try and use their best manners all the way there. (they did, whew!)


We were only just saying how we should get one of those jaffle makers. Now youve reminded me. When camping we use a jaffle iron, and Boy said that when he caught a wave in the surf he coughed up a chunk of coal from the burnt bit of his jaffle. I felt so sorry for him I promised to get a proper one so he didnt have to eat coal anymore.

Linda G. said...

This is anothr too funny post, Meggie!
I'm not big on kitchen appliances or gadgets either..
Ginger as a noxious weed..I'm trying to get my mind around that! The flowers look so beautiful in your photos, and they must smell wonderful..of course, even the weeds wilt down here in rainless Arizona.

Marja said...

Great post and what a beautiful flowers again.
I love a BBQ from time to time. It is cosy to have people around. We equally love to do fondue which we use together with a hot stone. It is just a heated stone and you bake little pieces of meat on them.
Fondue the same with little pans.
In Holland we used to do cheesefondue. You dipped pieces of bread in melted cheese.
Anyway have a nice day.

ancient one said...

Most of my gadgets are in the counters. Slow cookers, pressure cookers, toasters, george forman grill and an electric frying pan. If I ever go to the trouble to take one out, it will sit on the counter and be used over and over.

Anything to make my cooking fast and easy!!

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

I like the cycads too. We have a lot of them especially in the hills in the north of the country.

Ian Lidster said...

We have a breadmaker that is on its last electronic legs, but that is because we have faithfully used it for a decade now, and I wouldn't be without one. I used to make conventional bread, but carpal tunnel made the kneading a bit gruesome, so the machine is charished.

mereth said...

Mmmm, the Lure of the Gadget used to get me in, especially when I had three teenage boys to feed- the breadmaker and the 7 litre electric wok(huge!!) were the best ones. But now that it's just me they have no attraction at all.
I too have fallen asleep at the computer, so you're not alone.

molly said...

I thought I loved the ginger plants we planted last year. How could anyone not love that perfume? But! Ali is right....I now see them for what they really are----noxious weeds! The pictures are lovely though. They make them look innocent---"Who us? Take over your garden and choke out everything else?"

Mary said...

Now that the kids are going back to school the breadmaker will be put back into service again. Most of our machines languish like yours!

Love that you fell asleep whilst posting!

My float said...

Don't tell anyone but we bought two electrical appliances - a cafe press and a handheld blender - when we moved last year and we STILL HAVEN'T OPENED THEM. What a superb waste of money. Any wonder we all find it difficult to save!!

Your cyad is beautiful. We had a beautiful one here but as it poked Master MyFloat in the eye, it had to go. :(

Best place to rest one's head is on the keyboard, as long as you don't dribble and fry the keys!!