Thursday, August 27, 2009

Market Day

Ready to start selling our wraps for market day lunch. Ryan Displays the Rocket Oil which was oil flavoured by herbs and chillies.

Leah is our managing director and opened the show.

Well the curfuffle of market day is over. We made 218 wraps for lunch, and it is always a bit of a mission. This time we didn't have such good co-operation from the other staff and with 2 people away at religious meetings we ran really short of time to get the lunches made. Still, lots of good learning went on.
The spring gales have started - making everybody tetchy. Bud burst is just starting to happen on the vineyard.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Dont fence me in




We've finally got around to organising a new fence. We had the first of the spring gales the other day and the corrigated iron fence was looking fairly frail. It looks quite different now that Neil has taken this one down. His uncle was a champoin daffodil grower so it was a great time of year to do it. The new fence will be colour steel - not terribly glamorous, but function for keeping the hens and dogs out. He had just been out possum shooting and they always get paid in cash so he bought me his share in cash!!! We were just recovering from all these $notes when David Meban (buyer of vineyard) turned up with the roading engineers, so that is looking a lot more positive too.
Market day at school was not without its problems and we still have a few jars of Rocket oil to sell. However the hankies went well. We had quite a few of the egg wraps left over, but for some reason we made an extra 16 of these.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Out for a duck


What do you get when your dog dies? All manner of livestock, but mainly this pair of ducks, come to live in your back yard. Such big poohs!! Tomorrow we are going for a walk out at Anna's followed by breakfast together. She has had the opportunity to make duck sausages, so I hope these two don't think they should get too comfortable.

A lovely week weatherwise, but we have hardly noticed with our wonderful new heat pumps. The daffodils are out very early - I doubt if they will last to the official Daffodil day so bought this wonderful pot as part of their annual fundraiser.


Next week is Market Day for my year 9 and 10 commerce class. We have made spiced oil which they have named Rocket Oil, hankies - Swanky Hankies and this week we will be up to our armpits in mascarpone which we are making, selling with a recipe book and also making wraps with fillings of

1. Mascarpone +salmon+carrots+chives

2. Mascarpone +egg +parsley+lettuce

3. Mascarpone + ham+cheese+pineapple

4 Mascarpone +apricots+dates+ chocolate chips.

Yes, putting the smmooooth in sweet and savoury.

We have the following Monday off as a midterm break, I hope to get an extra game of golf in that week.


Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Cough Cough and splutter

I remember as a child driving up Fenton Street past Gough, Gough and Hammer and calling it Cough, cough and Splutter. Well that has been me this week. A gut wrenching cough - my muscles - I was going to say pentecostal muscles but I think its the intercostal muscles between your ribs - are aching. I was sent to the spare room to sleep. No fever, no body aches or other symptoms that might suggest swine flu. Today has been gorgeous weather, and I cant believe that I am starting to shake this cough off. Lets hope I sleep well tonight.
We had heat pumps put in today - a large one in the living room and a wee one in the bedroom. Unfortunately they haven't been checked by an electrician and certified so we are not allowed to use them until tomorrow. I had the Brethren firm come and do them.
Just 4 months now until the sale of our property. The bad news is: it looks like our real estate agent has died - he had already been paid, so the deal better be completed. The good news is : The caretakers house at the racecourse has been shifted off, preparatory to putting the road in up the racecourse entrance to the back of our place. Who knows eh?
Off for my dose of cough mixture.