A Bit of This and a Bit of That

I've been writing my blog for five years now, recording the things we've done, the travels we've taken and the life around us on the Fleurieu Peninsula. But with the coming of Covid-19 last year, life for us - and everyone - changed.  Now, a new year and the virus is still with us though thankfully not in Encounter Bay (so far). Our usual activities have continued - yoga, walking, gym, gardening, reading, Steve's radio shows - so life has remained fairly normal, despite the sad fact that there is no overseas travel, and that may not be likely for another year at least. 

So, in the interests of history, today's blog records some of the things I've been up to, activities which I imagine are pretty similar to lots of other people. 

Gardening Notes (for gardening enthusiasts)

The garden has put on a reasonable display though some of the plants are a bit confused with our almost autumn-like weather lately. Still, that means I've been able to get out and do a lot of fertilising, mulching, dead-heading etc. The courtyard garden looks a bit bare as, with my penchant for always changing plantings, I  took out lots of annuals that had gone to seed, an overgrown geranium, and a woolly bush that just didn't fit into my 'Mediterranean' theme. I then bought a bay tree which I put in a pot and planted a pittosporum in the corner which hopefully will fill out and provide a cool, green background. 

Many people have been doing home renovations and I too jumped onto the bandwagon. For ages I have been wanting to hide our water tank that takes up around one third of the yard and is just a big, round, ugly blob. Suggestions from friends included painting a mural, trailing a creeper over it, growing large bushes in front of it. Then I hit upon my brilliant idea: a fence. I hired a young bloke recommended to me. He was amazing and did exactly what I had envisaged. Of course now I have to wait for all the plantings to grow. I've already planted far more than this photo shows. 

The second season of Ebb Tide is proving to be a good one. 

I know there is nothing rare about a hibiscus but this one makes me happy and, as I write, there are numerous promising looking buds appearing. 

I was enchanted with this ethereal cactus flower that sadly lasted for a mere two days. 

My tropical-looking frangipani smells and looks divine. Unlike the cactus, lots more flowers arriving daily. 

And lastly, errant tomatoes that sprung up in the front garden, and that Steve is patiently watering.

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Christmas and birthday celebrations

Christmas was a quiet affair. Kate and Kim gave us the most amazing collection of cocktail liqueurs and cocktail-making implements. I uncovered the 1930s tea trolley that was stored in the garage and now it is happily ensconced in the living room loaded with cocktail paraphernalia. I think it could do with more bottles!!!!

I had a wonderful time making a Pisco Sour, shaking the mixture like a true pro. There were quite a few ingredients and items to use - and a whole lotta shakin' going on. I watched a couple of videos to be sure I had the technique right. The special Pisco brandy was another of our gifts - fabulous, as it is impossible to get in Encounter Bay.

Then a few drops of angostura bitters on top.

And then... the tasting. I was planning to wear a suitably slinky cocktail dress, but we were watching the football playoffs on TV at the time and I was wearing my Baltimore Ravens jersey, hence the rather unsophisticated look. But boy, was it yummy. 

Boxing Day saw us at the beach where Steve was trying out his latest photography 'toy' - a lens ball. You can see how crowded our coastline gets.

A first attempt. 

My birthday came and went over the festive season. We had a lovely lunch at the Victory Hotel along the coast near Adelaide. 

A friendly visit 

And then, in the new year, friend Maggie from Triabunna (on Tasmania's east coast) came to visit. Well, she actually came to visit her mum who lives in Adelaide, but whenever she does, we always manage to catch up. The catch was this time, instead of taking the ferry from Melbourne and driving to Adelaide, she flew Jetstar direct from Hobart. This meant I had to DRIVE to Adelaide if I wanted to meet her. I simply hate driving but managed to control my nerves to safely get to the Seaford Meadows station an hour or so south of Adelaide and train in (free for seniors!!!!). Of course as well as non-stop chatter, we concentrated on drinking and eating. Here we're having delicious cocktails, followed by an Eton Mess (cream, strawberries and broken bits of meringue, and for some reason, marshmallows).  We weren't complaining.

  

And because we are both history buffs we gave a thumbs up for the innovative sheeting of faux windows that disguised the unsightly scaffolding on this heritage building that was being restored. We thought it looked marvellous. 

I must admit here that Maggie gave me what must be the most original gift ever: a set of three stuffed chickens made for juggling. Yup, you read that right - JUGGLING. Well, I'm ok with 2, but never 3. Seems as if I am in for some hand/eye coordination practice. 

Bix antics

For Christmas, my sister Lyn gave Bix a 'fishing rod' with feathers attached. All I have to do is bounce the rod up and down and he lunges, leaps and lobs at the feathers. We can pass at least 15 minutes doing this. A great gift that tames our firecacker for a while! 

Here he is in a more restful pose...

... and just before jumping onto my desk to annoy me!

Reading

I found this book for $4 at a discount store and snapped it up as noir is one of my favourite genres. Turns out this story is a completely true account of a gruesome 1936 murder. One of the victims actually posed for this picture which was originally on the front of a magazine that was popular at the time - Inside Detective. For this book, the publisher added a title, a summary and the author's name. Well written, it had me enthralled.

Bounty from other people's gardens

We have been blessed with lovely friends and neighbours. And recently they have blessed us with bags of freshly picked apricots, plums and peaches from their overladen trees. So we gladly relieved them of the fruit that the birds would otherwise have eaten. How I love summer fruits. 

Baking

First up was stewed apricots, much of which I froze. Then an apricot cake. The cake was ok but I think I should have put the apricots cut side up on the top as the skin side got rather cooked and wrinkled. 

Tip: icing sugar is a great disguise.

Next up, a plum cake then peach muffins. So much for my new year's resolution not  to bake or eat cakes.

 

Not the Tour Down Under (only for cycling fans) 

Sadly, this year's Tour Down Under was cancelled because of the virus, it being too difficult to get cyclists and their teams from all over the world to Australia and then quarantined. A fair call. But the sponsors organised a local competition with the best young and not-so-young riders from across the country. A great idea. Australia's Richie Porte managed to leave Monaco, quarantined in Perth, trained in Tassie and won the Willunga Hill climb for the 7th time. Unfortunately for me, the race stages did not include Encounter Bay as they would have if it had been the Tour Down Under. 

And I did a peaceful walk along the coastal Heritage Trail early one morning, capturing this gentle scene just after the sun had come up behind the Bluff and making me realise how fortunate we are to be living here. 

Our latest excursion was a drive to Ingallala Falls, around 35kms away. Steve wanted to test his new lens ball in the bush this time and I wanted to have a picnic and a bush walk. Sadly, but not surprisingly as it is mid-summer, there was not much water in the falls.

But the walk along the creek was pleasant...

... the towering gums seemed very Hans Heysen-ish...

... and I got to take photos of bark, a subject I love.

And Steve got to practise using the lens ball again with varying degrees of success.