2 October 2021

Weekend Reading and family meals

We celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary during the week with tea and cake on the front verandah.  We were married in Hamburg in 1979. A couple of months after that, I was pregnant with Shane and we returned to Australia the following September with a three month old baby. Happy days!


It took ten minutes to fix one of Hanno's favourite jumpers. The raglan sleeve had come away from the back so his 15 year old jumper gets a few more years of use.


The last few days we've expected storms and heavy rain but the forecasts proved unreliable and we got about 5mm. Last night's storms were lots of thunder and lightening with very little rain. Still, I'm grateful for every drop and over the last few days much needed water has slowly trickled into our rain tanks. 

And now it looks like the warmer days have arrived. We're expecting 29C today and 36C on Monday. I've still got a few odd and ends to do in the garden and I want to clean up the bush house, so I'll do that soon before the humidity arrives.  That's the killer, as soon as it's humid, gardening and most outside work becomes much harder.

Donna and I had another lovely talk yesterday. Getting to know her has become a fascinating part of my week and even though we have a lot in common, our differences are also binding us together. We were talking about food this week, and among other things, the benefits of having a list of favourite family meals. Those who did my cooking workshop a few months ago will know I have a list of about 40 meals that we enjoy and are easy to cook.  I usually cook about 15 - 20 of those meals regularly on rotation and if I want a change, or someone is coming for dinner, I check the list and choose something else. All those list meals use ingredients in my pantry and freezer so I know I can rely on the list and I don't have to run to the supermarket to stock up. 



This is the first flower spike on the Berry Canary digiplexis; it's a perennial. New flower spikes are now growing below the main spike. 


Mixed tall snapdragons.

I'm going to do more posts on my blog in the coming months so I'll start with that one to get the ball rolling. During the week, I also added an email subscription app to the side bar on the blog. I used to have one there but Google withdrew that service in July. Email subscription makes a list of emails for me and automatically mails out new post details to everyone on the list. Please be assured, I'll never use your email address for anything else nor pass it on to anyone. If you want to join that service, simply add your email address in the "Subscribe to my blog" area in the side bar over there ----->

We had several Covid cases in my state during the week and although we're not in lockdown, I think we're close to it. Until now, football has been played in my state and the grand final is tomorrow. Everyone is hoping the match will go ahead but it's still up in the air. We're in a state of transition here with plans to move forward and open up when 80 percent double dose vaccination is reached. That will happen before the end of the year. I hope the Covid situation is improving where you live and that you're staying well.

Weekend Reading

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19 comments

  1. I needed to go to the Web version to subscribe. The sidebar is blank using the blog app. Maybe it is just me. Congratulations on your anniversary and I wish you and Hanno many more years of joy together. Cheers

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    1. Thanks for letting me know, Bernie. I'll check it out. It was a difficult app to deal with but I'll see if I can tweak it.

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  2. Hi Rhonda...a very happy anniversary to you and Hanno ☺ A lovely story of your early years together. Glad you could fix the old favourite jumper!
    I have watched the Turkish Stuffed Poatato clip...so calming...and amazed at the size of potatoes! Thank you for the readings.
    My husband and I have been sitting at opposite ends of the dining table today...each working on our own lockdown projects. Pretty gloomy outside. I am making some cards for upcoming birthdays.
    I have radishes, carrots and beetroot coming up new at the moment. Hoping my young fig trees might fruit this year. We are still cool down here. I was surprised at your upcoming temperatures Rhonda...very hot! Your flowers are so pretty. It is a lovely time of year...every day it seems something new is budding.
    Enjoy the rest of your weekend...and I look forward to your recipe blog.

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    1. I bet your garden takes off when you get the warmer weather, Karen. My garden was stagnant for a long time but as soon as it warmed up, there was no stopping it. xx

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  3. Congratulations on your anniversary - 42 years together is truly remarkable! I have been enjoying reading your blog posts, so am looking forward to reading more over the coming months. We have had lots of stormy weather and the opposite to your forecasts - we were expecting 1-5mm yesterday and received about 20mm. We were flooded in for almost 3 days as the Yass river runs across the property access. Lots of covid cases down this end, but the Yass shire recently had stay at home orders lifted so we can have visitors (from the same area), which was a welcome treat for the kids and for me to have a coffee with a friend. I love your cottage flowers - I plan to cram as many flowers as I can amongst the vegetables this summer. Lovely as always visiting your site. Have a great weekend Rhonda!

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    1. Thanks Paula. I wish we had that rain here. We've been in drought for so long, I'm starting to forget what "normal" rainfall is like. I'm really pleased it's opening up a bit down there for you and the kids. Friends bring a special comfort. xx

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  4. Congratulations!
    Linda

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  5. Happy 42nd Anniversary to you both. What a wonderful achievement. You garden is looking beautiful despite the lack of rain. Hope you get a decent spill soon. Love the new heading on your blog it looks so inviting. Wishing you both a lovely celebratory weekend. Xx

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  6. Happy Anniversary to you both. So glad to hear you will be writing more blog posts. I am finding reading posts from people I respect is helping to ground me in these uncertain times.

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  7. There's a lot to be said for the tried-and-true meals of our cooking experience. I've recently tried to branch out a little bit, with the meals around here, but I never venture too far before coming back to the usual standards. :-) ~Andrea xoxoxo

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  8. Wishing you and Hanno a happy anniversary and many blessings. Rhonda you mentioned your list of 40 favorite meals and then us 15-20 for regular rotation. I am in the US and didn't know how to participate in the workshop. Would you please consider doing a short blog series, or a blog post on how to create the 40 meals with the basic things you keep in your pantry (larder). That is the part I don't know how to do without going to the store. Thank you so much for considering. I love Donna, I read her blog and love to email her for "grandma's connection".

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    1. Cindy, I'll be doing a blog post during the week about this.

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  9. I think we're over 80% here in California, Rhonda. (at least for with the first vaccine.) That's great that you are chatting with Grandma Donna. I would like to send her a donation. She is so sweet, and I love her home. You two are a perfect blogging match. Both such great teachers...I need to do some darning myself. It's wonderful that Hanno has gotten so much use out of that wool sweater. I love my handknits, especially up at the cabin where it snows!

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    1. Donna is a lovely lady. I'm sure she'd appreciate a donation. It's very kind of you to think of it. xx

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  10. Congratulations to you and Hanno on your 42 Anniversary! In middle of December we should celebrate 45 years together. I say "should" and am ashamed to say we often forget. So many other things happen then with birthdays and Christmas. It
    was such a low-key event too. I arrived in Sweden with my two children 9 months earlier, no other family, no friends, my husbands family scattered so we just had a quick ceremony in the town hall. 9 months later our son was born. They´ve been good years.

    Thank you so much for the article about the Australian birds. I´ve sent the link to our granddaughters in Melbourne. Being so new to the country, it can take a while to get used to the new flora and fauna so this is helpful information.

    Despite my age, I´m not good with meal strategies, more of an impulse person. "What do I feel like cooking today"? is more my style but I realise this and planning are not incompatible. I´ll read your meal planning articles with pleasure - as always.

    Keep well!
    Ramona

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    1. We forget ours too, Ramona. We remember the decade anniversaries but during the decades, sometimes yes, often no. xx

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  11. Happy anniversary! There are signs that the Covid situation is getting a bit better here (some of the local hospital floors that had been converted to Covid floors are back to their normal function, for example), but we still have to be really careful. We just keep trying to find the balance between being safe and still allowing our kids to have a bit of normalcy (so no to inside playdates, but yes to being at the park).

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  12. Thanks for sharing this! I’m delighted with this information, where such important moments are captured. All the best!

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