Hello again

Reviving this blog as part of the USQ23 Things pilot program. Big changes since my last update. We moved to Toowoomba at the end of last year (Simon moved in February, so there was a LOT of solo parenting between end of Nov and mid Feb). We have a dog Tickety Boo (a Welsh Springer Spaniel) who is just gorgeous. Eva is in Prep and SOOOOOO grown up. Harrison now plays 4 instruments, and is doing AMEB exams for 2 of them. We finally stopped paying for day care, but are now paying for 3 private music lessons a week. We sold our Perth house, and haven't yet found a house in Toowoomba that we like (and we're a bit sick of looking).

eBook Infographic

Great graphic representation of the current state of play regarding e-book usage in the US. Problem for public libraries is that publishers either limit borrowing access, or won't sell e-books to libraries at all.
Brought to you by: OnlineUniversities.com

South African Apple Cake Recipe

I can't remember where I got this recipe, or what is particularly South African about it, but it's a really simple dessert with no exotic ingredients that feeds a hungry horde.   You bake it in a large lasagne dish.  You can bake it a bit earlier in the day and reheat it to warm when you're serving it.

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
30 g butter (melted)
1 cup self raising flour (gluten free works fine)
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
tin of pie apples (800g)
3/4 cup cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon caramel topping
vanilla icecream to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
2. Beat the eggs, sugar, milk, melted butter, flour, salt and cinnamon together and pour into a lasagne dish.  This should be a thick batter consistency - don't be alarmed!
3. Top the mixture with the pie apples - no need to be neat.
4. Bake for 30 minutes.
5. Bring the cream and brown sugar to the boil, and stir in the caramel topping.
6. Remove the cake from the oven, prick it all over with a skewer, and carefully pour the caramel sauce over it.
7. Return it to the oven for another 20 minutes or so.  Sometimes it needs more to cook properly in the middle.
8. Serve warm with vanilla icecream.

Out of Milk

Having just swapped from an iPhone to an Android, I was on the look out for a new To Do list app to replace TeuxDeux.  I didn't look too hard, but I do really like the one I chose - Out of Milk.  You can record what's already in your pantry (great for figuring out that you already have 3 bags of brown sugar in the cupboard when you're standing in the supermarket thinking of buying another), you can create grocery lists (and other shopping lists), and I have several different To Do lists on the go.  I'm borrowing from the GTD principles of having lists of "Calls to make" and things to do "At my home computer" etc.

I haven't paid for the Pro version, which would let me view my lists on the web, have them sync with my phone, and share my lists with other Android users.  Not sure if I need that or not.

My fabulous new job means that even after almost 4 weeks I'm still on top of emails at work - zero in my inbox at the end of the day! - and I am even becoming vaguely responsive to personal emails.  I"m sure this will change, but I'm loving it right now.

Society

Harrison is loving his music at the moment. Simon taught him a bit of an Eddie Vedder song tonight - here he is...

Happy birthday Harrison

Harrison turned 7 and had his first "proper" birthday party last weekend. Coming sandwiched between my first function as our P&C fundraising organiser (barefoot bowls) and Mothers Day, as well as lots of work stuff going on (applying for my own job - successfully as it turned out) it was a pretty full on week or two. I was decorating the cake at 1:30am on Saturday morning after the barefoot bowls function! The kids all had the URL of a Flickr set on their party bags and we uploaded photos taken in front of the tent when we got home from the party. The tent was 5 bamboo poles from bunnings and some calico and safety pins. Not sure I'd want to spend the night in it!

We're now rationing birthday presents. He gets to open one a day, which means he's probably got 3 weeks of birthday love! We made a "tent" cake with a campfire (gluten free versions of jaffas as red coals, hard candies melted and used as fire, scorched almond rocks, Flake logs), and trees (gluten free icecream cones with disgusting green royal icing - a surprising hit with the kids, they all wanted to try a tree!).

Here's Eva with her god-sister Amy and Ryan.

What happens when...

Your mum goes outside to hang out washing...

Your brother does your hair...

Easy Gluten Free Christmas Lunch

We had an early Christmas yesterday to give the kids a chance to open their presents and so that we don't have to carry presents on the plane next week. We had a very, very simple Christmas lunch. The main meal was a platter of salad vegies with a home made dill dip, and plates of cold ham and cold roast turkey (with cranberry sauce). There was also a cheese plate, and some freshly baked corn bread from the Rebar cookbook. Afterwards we had Eton Mess for dessert along with a fruit platter. The only baking to be done was the meringue for Eton Mess (a day before), and the corn bread, which only takes 25 minutes in the oven. I got the blender out to puree strawberries and a hand mixer for the cream, but other than that a couple of knives and chopping boards was all the kitchen equipment needed. Everything was gluten free (I substituted the wheat flour in the cornbread for gluten free), and I don't think anyone missed the wheat/rye/barley/oats.

Harrison's video

Harrison made this short film with his friend Helen over the past 2 weekends. It's going to get a public showing next weekend at his school's family film festival. Not bad for a couple of 6 year olds, if I do say so myself.

Snow

It's snowing today in Victoria (Canada) - while we've had 38 degree days in Perth. Hard to imagine that this time last year we were scraping ice off our windscreen in the mornings.

Babysitting

Harrison loves little kids and babies. Here he is with 8 week old Amy - he couldn't get enough of holding her, and LOVED being able to give her a bottle. He's equally keen on playing big brother to Amy's brother Ryan - loves to hold his hand and make sure he keeps out of trouble. And Evie doesn't miss out either - he feeds her, keeps her out of mischief, teaches her things like blowing raspberries, and is most fond of pushing her head back out of awkward positions when she's fallen asleep in the car. Pity this last trick often results in her waking up.

Junior Chef

Eva loves dressing up!

Evie at the Show

Eva had her first ride on a merry-go-round at the Perth Royal Show a couple of weeks ago. She ended up standing on the horse!

Things I miss

It’s summer in Canada now, and while Perth is enjoying balmy weather at the moment, I am missing the organic blueberries that used to turn up in our Share Organics fruit and veg box every Thursday morning.  We got fantastic service from Share Organics.  There’s nothing like that available here yet.  I loved getting an email telling me what was in my box (and where it was from), AND being able to log on and change the quantities and contents to suit our preferences.  I loved the icepacks in the box, the news about local organic farmers, and the recipes for using unfamiliar ingredients.

I also miss the Natures Path gluten free organic waffles available in virtually every supermarket freezer.  Such a treat for Harrison!  I miss Island Farms icecream.  I miss the fact that virtually all “soft serve” on Vancouver Island was actually just frozen Island Farms cream – with no nasties, and gluten free.

I miss the range of gluten free cereals readily available everywhere, especially Natures Path.  We’re just starting to see the odd Nature’s Path product in IGAs here.  I miss Glutino and Kinnikinnik brands.  And I was totally in love with Whole Foods stores, including Capers Whole Foods, just a block or so from our favourite place to stay in Vancouver (Times Square Apartments).  And speaking of Vancouver, I miss Stanley Park and the Granville Island markets.

GOD I miss places being open late and 7 days a week.  Even our teeny little enclave of Oak Bay had a supermarket open til 10 every night, and our local cafe was open early and late.  Bring on extended trading, Perth!!!!

I would love for the 4 of us to stroll down to the marina, buy a bag of frozen herring to feed the resident seals, and have coffee and scones, with a strawberry milk for Harrison for under $10. Maybe we’d come across a couple of iced tea or lemonade stands on the way back.  Magic!

It would be lovely to be able to look out the window to see Noelle sitting on her front steps waiting for Harrison to make an appearance.

Happy birthday Science Library

Today we celebrated 1 year since we (not me, actually - I was juggling a new born with a strange and a new medical diagnosis, an expedited passport application for her, and an impending plane trip half way round the world) moved into the Science Library. Took some bubbles in to work and Amina baked a gigantic chocolate cake. Eva had a great time toddling around the staff room. She then visited the Law Library and charmed some of the staff. The Science Library is still an absolutely stunning space to walk into, and it's a real pleasure to see it teaming with students using all the spaces in all the ways we thought they would when the library was just lines on a page. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to help plan something so wonderful and then to work in it once it was all finished.

Toddler!

Eva started walking just before her first birthday, and is now a very proud full time toddler with her first pair of walking shoes. So cute!!! And she loves her 3 days a week at daycare. As soon as we pull up in the carpark she's kicking her legs and giggling. She just can't wait to get in there.

Warehouse

We're staying temporarily in Richard's guest warehouse in Fremantle until we move into our new house. It's a gorgeous place to stay - convict built, with a wool lift glassed in, oodles of space, a full sized trampoline inside, metres from the sea, 2 minutes walk from fishing boat harbour, High St and all Freo's delights. Harrison is yet again living with another boy's fabulous toys - this time Jim's lego and Thomas train set. He'll have a hard time adjusting to moving into our new house with just his own toys, me thinks!
PS - no idea why this photo is round the wrong way!

New Years Resolutions

This year there are just 2 resolutions - and neither of them involves getting fit or any variation on that theme ;-)
1. Live simply
2. Be organised

Thoreau said that he had 3 chairs in his hut on Walden Pond - 1 for solitude, 2 for company, 3 for society. Since all our possessions are in a storage shed in Perth now, and we are likely to buy a tiny dump of a house this year, I plan to vet every item that crosses the threshold for usefulness or beauty. Having spent so much time in other people's houses and apartments as we travelled this last 6 months, I am pretty keen on having just the essentials for my kind of living and entertaining in my kitchen. Kind of like what we had the first time we moved to Perth (and didn't have the benefit of a corporate relocation company packing up our entire house for us).
I also plan to try to rid my life of unnecessary plastic and paper. Harrison's school lunches will be an opportunity to try to provide simple good food without plastic wrap, additives and processing as far as possible. The Bento laptop lunch box is my inspiration. I'm going to make 2 dozen cloth napkins to use instead of hundreds of paper serviettes this year (a la Crate and Barrel's).
And I plan to make sure my work and home spaces are organised (a place for everything), uncluttered, and peaceful. The label maker is going to go into overdrive!

Going home

In order to get home from BC we, very logically travelled across to the other side of Canada, down to Boston, before making a U turn and going to San Francisco. In Vancouver we saw our first snow fall - and Harrison made his first snowballs. In Montreal there was HEAPS of snow, and Harrison made his first snow man. Then in Quebec there was still more snow, and we left magic reindeer food out in the snow outside our condo to help Rudolph and co find their way to our place on Christmas Eve. We went toboganning (seriously fun and seriously fast), Harrison and Simon both had a day of skiing at Mont St Anne, and they also went outdoor iceskating. We found out what cold really is walking around in minus 28 degrees.
Boston got snow while we were there too... including on our day trip to Walden Pond where Simon proposed 12 years ago. A little different with 2 kids this time! Marg and I chose Boston's coldest morning for our walking culinary tour of Little Italy (which was just fantastic).
San Francisco is positively warm (20 degrees), with exciting things like flowering plants instead of snow covered pine trees. It's a good way for us to gradually acclimatise on our way to the heat and humidity that awaits us in a few days. We've all got buns of steel from walking up and down San Francisco's multitude of steep, steep hills. We spent the day riding cable cars yesterday, in between walking up Telegraph Hill and down the Filbert steps. Cable cars must be the most inefficient and noisy form of public transport possible, but they are still pretty cute, and they are a good way to beat a few of those hills. Marg and I splurged on dinner at Greens vegetarian restaurant (very famous). The food was just exquisite. These guys know their way around vegies!

Farewell to the west coast

We've now left the west coast and are in Quebec city. We exchanged gifts with Pamela (Harrison's nanny) last week. Harrison made her a book with his drawings and collage detailing a "crazy" day they spent together (various buses taking them to the wrong places, ending up going back in time, getting lunch pinched by a dinosaur, and finally walking home in the snow). Pamela gave us a collection of photos she'd taken of Harrison (and one I love of me feeding Evie). This one of Harrison being a totem pole was her favourite.