I love the smell of baking in the morning

I heard a new birdsong this morning. This beauty and a friend were in our flowering gum.

I think they are rainbow lorikeets. Regardless they are stunning.

I baked a loaf of bread and a batch of biscuits. I added some ginger and spice to the mix. They have an interesting bit of heat. Himself loves them which means I will be baking again soon!

I removed myself as admin from the craft group. I shall go tomorrow and then decide on a day by day basis. Himself told me to step back. I agree.

Angela suggested I go along to her knitting group. I might just try that. It's always a challenge to walk into a group of people who know one another but I know her face!

I try to please all of the people all of the time. I realise that with some people you can please none of them none of the time. I have soothed ruffled feathers. I have stood up for those who have been spoken about badly. I can't do this anymore and nor do I want to. The final straw was pathetic bleating by one person who didn't want to share her birthday with a belated celebration for someone else.

I quit the psychologist. She lacked empathy. She didn't listen properly and just doled out advice. I told her I lacked purpose in my life. She told me to plan a holiday.

Sorry for the whinge. It's been one of those days weeks months. 

Anyone would think it was Winter.

A white lie

I piked.

The weather tomorrow is forecast to be horrible.

Himself is still not enthusiastic about going to see my brother and sister in law.

I told Dr Brother that Himself had a nasty head cold.

Strike me down with lightning now.

I am not sure what will happen with the craft group. I caught up with J today and we both agreed it may have run its course. The yarn cafe now has groups every day and most people seem to want to go there which is fine. 

We will see who turns up on Friday and make the decision then. Regardless I am this close to shutting my facebook account down. I only had it for two groups and this was one of them. The other group I would be sad to leave but needs must. I don't see them in real life.

Don't mention the war

On Thursday we are going to see Dr Brother's new place. It is a couple of hours away in South Gippsland near Wilson's Prom.

(This is from the real estate listing. You can see The Prom in the distance. The white building is their house.)

Himself and Dr Brother's wife inevitably get into "discussions". Unfortunately she spouts opinions (usually about climate change and political stuff) but can't back them up with references and Himself is a stickler for supporting documentation so to speak.  She ends up in tears accusing him of making her defend her science (she's a teacher) and it's all horrible. He can be a right bastard when he gets like this and although I disagree with a lot of his opinions I do understand that you can't just repeat what someone else said and call it fact.

In February there was a massive incident involving Himself, this woman and Other Brother. I thought I would never speak to either brother again.

Other Brother is still being a twat and refusing to speak to Himself but he's in Italy so it doesn't matter.

Dr Brother has done the right thing and has invited us down to see the property.

I don't trust Himself not to be a twat. I have asked him to not mention the war but I will be on tenterhooks until the day is over.

This makes me very, very sad. I love my husband but sometimes I don't like him very much. 

Dr Brother hates conflict as much as I do. We are like our father in that respect.

Fortunately I have this ...

and them ...

and him ...

And they make me happy.

(One of Fawlty Towers' classic bits but I doubt it would be screened today).

Happy day

 "T was going to look after the kids but has covid - can you look after the kids while Amy goes to physio?"

It was a glorious winter day and we went to the shop around the corner. We had to pass our local park.

Lots of smiles like this ..

She was yawning in the pram on the way home so I stuck her dummy in her gob, tucked her into her snuggly fleecy blanket and left her outside in the fresh air watching the leafless branches waving in the trees. She was asleep in 30 seconds. It made me realise you don't see many kids sleeping outside these days. 

The only downside? 

Sally talking to someone of my vintage at the park: "See that old lady with the pram? That's my Granny".

"sigh"

A Sunday Drive

Last of the big spenders, that's us.

We decided to ignore the skyrocketing cost of fuel and go for a drive for a few hours.

It was a perfect day for it , blue skies and sunshine.

We drove down through South Gippsland which is one of my absolute favourite parts of Victoria. I would live there if I could. Especially Poowong. I don't know why but I have always loved the area around Poowong.

Is it not just delightful?

As we drove through Lang Lang I saw kettles hanging off the road sign for Kettles Rd. I didn't have time to stop and take a photo but Mr Google found me this

with this explanation.

Gotta love the Aussie sense of humour.

On the way home I had a hankering for hummus. Himself dropped me off at the new shop just around the corner (his ageing bladder couldn't wait) and I bought a couple of varieties. They were closing up and one of the young girls offered me a quiche and a spinach roll for nothing as they would have been thrown away. I grabbed a couple of vanilla slices for after dinner as well.

Chris asked me what a vanilla slice is. I'm sure they would have something similar in Canada.

This is a vanilla slice

and this explains what's in them.

The important thing is to get the texture of the custard just right. Too sloppy and it's messy to eat and too hard and it's like rubber. And you must be able to taste the vanilla in the custard.

Hummus, roast chicken with spuds and veg and a vanilla slice for afters. The fire is burning and I have a glass of red to hand.

A perfect end to a lovely Sunday.

Hearts and flowers

 It was a very small group today - just 3 of us! We sat in the florist section of the cafe with one of the owners who has asked us to crochet/knit pieces to yarn bomb the trees outside. Her husband initially suggested we teach some of their clients but the wife said they didn't have the motor skills necessary to learn to crochet. So we are going to make pieces and the kids ('cept they're not kids but I can call them kids cos I'm an old lady) can decorate them with ribbons and buttons and bits and bobs.

We have also been asked to make hearts and flowers. The heart is part of their logo and she wants them on the trees and the flowers reflect the florist.

We have been given some yarn (and can use our own, obviously) and I am going to make pink and yellow hearts and Amy is going to make sunflowers. Hopefully we will have a good response from the group.

We were all given a beautiful bunch of flowers when we left. They give away bouquets that won't keep over the weekend but they are still fresh and lovely and it was a lovely gesture. 

I have said before but I will repeat myself. I am an atheist and have little regard for organised religion but these people are true Christians who practice their faith by giving support and love to their community. They are good people.

Scones and stuff

The recipe for the lemonade scones ...

3 1/2 cups SR flour (OR 3 1/2 cups plain flour with 7 tsps baking powder)

1 cup thickened cream 

1 cup lemonade.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until just combined. Turn onto floured board and knead 5 or 6 times (don't overdo it). Work into a round about an inch thick. Cut into circles using a cutter about 2.5". Take care not to twist when removing the cutter or the scones will be wonky. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment/baking paper just touching each other and brush tops with milk. Bake in moderate (180C fan forced) oven for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

I am going to try with soda water and will report back.

It was craft today. The dynamic is certainly changing. I am going again tomorrow as there are some that can only make it on Saturdays. 

Our labor state government is privatising/selling off things it shouldn't be. The latest is our vehicle and licensing and registration body. I need to know more about what this means but it scares me. Officially it's not a sell off - it's being leased for 40 years for some exorbitant amount of money. The strange thing is it that's the labor (left wing) that is doing it. Something they bitterly complained about when the liberals (right wing) did it years ago. And for which we are still paying the price.