Reusing Scented Candle Holders and Other Occupations

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Cleaning and reusing candle holders

An empty candle holder with a replacement pillar candle in it.

Do you burn candles for their scent? So many of them are packaged in the most attractive holders and I don’t want to throw them out! Some are glass and some are porcelain. They are quite easy to clean and reuse. My favourite scented candle is packaged in a tin. I’m still thinking of ways to use the pretty tins. The labels will peel off and the lids seal snugly.

Still deciding what I can do with these tins. Any ideas?

When the candle has burnt to the base of the holder you can light the remaining wick to melt as much wax as possible. Pour the liquid wax into something where it can set then be thrown in the bin. Don’t pour liquid wax down the drain! Then place the candle holder in the freezer. The wax shrinks a little and about five hours later you can use a knife blade to pop out the residual wax. There’s probably a metal disk in the base which can be eased out with the knife, too. Leave the holder to warm up before you wash it in hot, soapy water.

Then I reused this pretty holder to hold cotton pads. I’ve actually been reusing it for years in different ways.

Boil a kettle, squirt some detergent into the holder then add the boiling hot water. Leave for five minutes, swish it around then pour out the water and wipe with a paper towel. All the residual wax should be gone, but you might have to repeat the process. If I’m using the holder for food stuffs I put it through the dishwasher.

Stationery holders for pencils and paper clips.

Now the fun bit, reusing the candle holder! Some have lids and some don’t, so that dictates what they can be used for, but they’re pretty versatile.

Once a candle holder now a salt container.

Some ideas for recycling candle holder include using them as vases for small bouquets, holders for pencils and other stationery such as paper clips, cotton face wipe holders, pretty pots for serving treats like wrapped nougat and other food things. I keep salt in one. I’ve reused them by putting short pillar candles inside them, too. Some people make their own candles to put into used candle holders.

Now a pretty bowl for treats and sometimes a vase, too.

Sweet vases for single blooms.

These two have well sealed lids and will end up in the pantry with food in them. To get rid of any lingering scent after you cleaned out and washed the container leave it and the lid out in the sun in a safe place. Should be scent free in a few days.

ITALIAN NOUGAT

In case my paintings suggest we only eat healthy, fresh food I’ve included this photo of what we were eating one afternoon when it really, really hot. We were experiencing an historic heatwave. It was too hot to do anything at all active. Very delicious sweet, Italian nougat coated in dark, bitter chocolate whilst watching TV.

watching the parisian agency

So glad there’s a second series of Le Parisian Agency. (L’Agence) This series on Netflix follows the super successful but down to earth Kretz family and their real estate agency. The mother, father and three of their four sons all work together. The fourth son finishes high school during the second series and assumes one day he will join the agency, too. The family deals in the multi million euro market and the properties they sell are so interesting. Old, new and everything in between, originally in Paris but now throughout the country, too. We get a good look around properties few would ever get to visit. Fascinating, especially seeing how much of the original architecture from the Haussmann buildings has been retained.

Pixabay

Chateaus and palaces, once unpopular except with foreigners, are now becoming more sought after by the French. Foreigners buy deserted chateaus in need of restoration, the French like them already restored.

annual macaron day 20th march

Unsplash Heather Barnes

Unfortunately, this delicious day passed me by but I am willing to celebrate later than the actual day. Macaron Day began in Paris in 2005. Parisian macaron makers initiated the day to raise money for charities.

There’s some excellent recipes and demonstrations for making macarons on Youtube, but, for me, it’s far safer to buy a few from the patisserie rather than bake a tray of about 20 exquisite little treats. Way too tempting.

and finally, the last food painting

This is the last food painting! Moved onto other things now. Well, actually I’m back painting botanicals again.

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Painting, Cooking, Reading and Huge Lotto Prizes

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painting botanicals

A friend arrived with two picture frames. He asked me to paint pictures for the frames. I asked what he wanted me to paint. Fruit, vegetables or flowers? He pointed to my Moleskin painting book and said anything like those in there. So, flowers. Did he have favourite flowers, preferred colours. No, just do some like those ( in the book) So I did!

I began with the dark red geranium as I have several pots of them and I know he likes them. Then I painted a gladioli, which I didn’t like at all, so started again and painted some carnations. Painting for someone else is actually very different from trying to capture the colour and shape for myself.

Took my friend’s frames apart, cut some mounting boards then put them back together again.

The unloved gladioli.

cooking

This recipe for Feta and Leek slice was doing the rounds at yoga. I had a leek and a packet of feta so knew I was going to make it for lunch. Had everything ready to go when I discovered I didn’t have enough plain flour, so I used self raising flour and left out the baking powder. Worked well!

To make a LEEK and FETA slice mix 200gm yoghurt, 200ml vegetable oil (I used a mild olive oil), 200gm crumbled feta, 200 gm chopped leek, 2 cps sifted plain flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder plus 4 eggs.

Spray or oil a baking dish and spoon in the mixture. I used a spatula. Top with 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds if desired. Bake is a pre- heated oven 220°C for 15-20 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Can be eaten hot or cold

Conversions weight 200gm =7oz, temperature 220ºC-=430°F

This made quite a big pie. Next time I make it I’ll freeze half as eating the same thing for lunch and dinner and then again for lunch the next day is a bit too much. I drizzled sweet chili sauce over it the second day as it seemed a little bit dry.

NOTE I used self raising flour as I discovered I’d run out of plain flour. This made a ‘puffier’ slice than the original one. Tasted just as good.

Also I find leeks need a lot of washing to remove all the sand embedded with in the leaves!

Served at lunch time with salad, at dinner time with steamed vegetables and the next day with sweet chili sauce.

apple crumble

What do you do with leftover apples losing their crunch? I try not to waste food so peeled them, removed their cores and cooked them in water, a little sugar and cinnamon. Cold stewed apple with icecream would have been appropriate during this never ending, record breaking heatwave, but I decided on apple crumble.

While the apples were stewing I thought I’d look up a ‘proper’ recipe for the crumble instead of just mixing the oatmeal, flour, cinnamon, brown sugar and butter the casual way I usually do until it feels just right. I immediately discovered a problem. Apparently I should have weighed the prepared apples before I stewed them to determine the ‘right’ amount of crumble! Too late, proceeded in my usual casual ‘throw it all together’ way.

There are many recipes for making a crumble online. This is a great way to use up any fruit which can be stewed. Serve crumble with custard, cream or icecream. Delicious even on a hot day.

reading

Adrian Hyland’s Canticle Creek is a fast moving story about Leading Senior Constable Jess Redpath briefly leaving her police job in the outback to accompany her artist father to an awards evening in rural Victoria. This gripping murder mystery, taking the reader from one drama to another, left me not sure who the killer was until the very end. Full of twists and turns with some great descriptions of the various landscapes, the story has well developed characters and is a good read.

Kit Kemp, regular readers of this blog will know, is one of my favourite interior decorators. Her new book Design Secrets is full of her colourful and clever combinations of fabric, colour and shape. She talks about the design processes she uses with her staff to come up with new projects and ways to put things together. Kemp doesn’t dictate strict guidelines and encourages the use of everyday objects to create pleasing arrangements. The results are often exuberant! It did occur to me that this style of decorating with layers of fabric, paper and objects plus furnishings was probably more suitable for cooler climates!

huge lotto winnings

Last week one of Australia’s lotto prizes was $120 million dollars which sounds like an enormous amount of money for one person to win. Actually, there were two first division prize winners, winning $63 million dollars each. One of the winning tickets belonged to a Kalgoorlie syndicate of 250 people. They each won $261,986. Millions and millions of dollars can be life changing, but not in a good way, whereas $261,986 must be wonderful! This is a great deposit on a house, a way to pay off loans, a chance to travel, educate children or buy the family treats. I’ve just read in the paper, some syndicate members plan to pay off mortgages, buy caravans and travel, plan for their retirement and help their children get settled. Makes so much more sense that huge prizes.

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Growing and Propagating Lucky Bamboo

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cityscape photography during daytime

When my husband was working at his office in Hong Kong we would stay at the Excelsior Hotel which was just a block away. Sadly it has now been demolished. Closed in 2019 the site is being developed as an office block. It was quite easy for me to entertain our small son as our rooms always overlooked the Hong Kong Yacht Club where they still fired the noonday gun. This former naval military artillery piece on an enclosed piece of land near the waters edge is fired at noon and on New Year at midnight. Our small boy was also entertained for hours watching the planes landing and taking off Kowloon side across the water at Kai Tak airport.

green cactus plant during daytime

Growers turn the lucky bamboo stems to make them move towards sunlight, creating the twisted stems.

The other element I remember from the Excelsior, apart from the amazing range of cuisine available at several restaurants, was every room had stems of lucky bamboo in oriental patterned vases. These were popular in restaurants, hotels and office blocks but not common elsewhere. Some were ornate and twisted and some were just straight but they were usually decorated with red string knotted around the stems to encourage good luck.

Lucky bamboo is not actually a bamboo, but belongs to the Dracaenia family and is Dracaenia sanderiana. It is native to Africa and Southeast Asia. Lucky bamboo is thought to bring positive energy and strength. According to feng shui, the number of stalks encourage different strengths and good fortune. Twenty one stalks is a very powerful blessing for great wealth and prosperity.

This small lucky bamboo missed the constant attention of small hands at school but after a year or so when I had retired, it thrived.

Since we returned to Western Australia I’ve had lucky bamboo in two places. One was about 18 years old and very big and lush. The leaves were slowly turning yellow. I suspect I’d over fertilised it. I know now lucky bamboo only needs fertiliser every three or four months. The other lucky bamboo used to be in my classroom and began as two small stems. When I first brought it home it didn’t thrive. Maybe it missed small people breathing on it and poking the soil to see if it needed watering. Since I’ve stopped fertilising it so often it is thriving.

green-leafed plant

I decided the old, very big lucky bamboo, slowly turning yellow and already touching the ceiling, could be the source of new plants.

Birdcages on corner unit

The lucky bamboo a few years ago before it hit the ceiling and stated heading sideways. It has seven stems.

Propagating dracaenias/lucky bamboo

I gathered the materials, got down the old plant and set about making new plants.

You need:

stems of lucky bamboo

a clear jar/vase with some water*

garden scissors/secataurs

rooting/growth powder (optional)

* some people use filtered water, I used cooled boiled water

Cut stems with leaves just below a nodule. Remove any yellowed leaves, dip the stalk into rooting powder if you’re using it and put the stem in the jar of water.

Leave the jar of stems in dappled sunlight until little roots develop on the cut end. This took two weeks in the heat of summer. I left them another two weeks. One stalk grew roots despite the leaf yellowing and dying and one quite healthy looking cutting didn’t develop roots at all.

Although the single leaf on this stem died the developing root system is quite strong so I’ve left it in with the others.

I have left the stems in water for now. Lucky bamboo lives for longer in soil but it also thrives in water. In either case, use specific lucky bamboo fertiliser. Pour a capful into a jug of water to dilute it then add to the water or the soil about once a month. No more!

Why have I left the stems in water? Normally I plant my lucky bamboo in soil as they last a few years longer than in water. It is very, very hot here at the moment, has been for a few weeks and continuing hot weather is forecast. I don’t want these young and still quite small roots to dry out in soil so I’ve left them in water, which is easy to top up when necessary. When it is cooler I will plant them in loose, good quality potting mix and put the pot in one of the various holders I use ( a faux Greek antiquity vase, a stainless steel ice bucket, a chinoiserie teapot missing it’s lid) At the moment the jar of rooted stems is in an old teapot.

I trimmed the dead leaf off the flourishing stem and it is healthy so I will keep it in the pot.

If you’re growing lucky bamboo in water the roots will be easy to check. As they grow and become a tangled mass in the container they take on a red tinge. This means they are healthy!

opening the border between western australia and the rest of australia

On the 2nd of April, 2020, Western Australia closed its border to the rest of Australia in an attempt to stop the spread of the corona virus. It was very successful but also meant families, friends and people working or holidaying in the Eastern States were prevented from entering WA. Unfortunately, the hard border is still in place but the Premier says it will open on 3rd of March. The plan to open the border on 8th of February was postponed. This has been a difficult time for so many people and many businesses have suffered. We wait to see what happens!

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2022 The First Week

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It still feels strange to write 2022 but we adjust to writing the new date quickly. Did you make New Year resolutions? The New Year used to be a big party night but not since CV-19. I miss the fabulous fireworks but not the parties. My energy and interest used to flag by 10.30pm and I’d want to go home to bed.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!

fireworks display during night time unsplash

packing away christmas

The Nativity figurine closeup photography

Apparently, Christmas decorations should go up four weeks before Christmas at the beginning of Advent. So, of course, there’s rules about when the decorations should be taken down and packed away. It seems decorations should stay in place until the Twelfth Night, celebrating the arrival of the Three Wise Men or Magi, who followed the Star of Bethlehem to offer gifts to the newborn Baby Jesus in the manger.

Twelfth Night is the 5th or 6th of January, depending on your religious affiliations. I quite like traditions which make it plain when things should happen but most of our decorations were hanging from high light fittings so were taken down by our 192cm tall (6’4″) son before he went back to Kalgoorlie. It is much more fun putting up Christmas decorations than taking them down and packing them away.

single use plastics

I often refer to the damage single use plastics are doing to our environment and therefore our health. Western Australia will be officially phasing out the sale of single use plastics as of the first of January, 2022. The list includes plastic plates, bowls and cutlery, stirrers, straws, takeaway expanded polystyrene containers, thin plastic bags and helium balloons. Single use plastics required in medical, aged care and disability circumstances will be exempt.

Reusable picnic ware, made from bamboo, taking your own bags for shopping and fabric bags for loose fruit and vegetables are easy swaps. Ask if you can provide your own containers for takeaway food. Not always well received but I hope that will change now! Plastic shopping bags will be phased out within six months.

image 123RF

The next stage in reducing our reliance on single use plastics will be in January, 2023. Cotton buds with plastic shafts will be banned along with polystyrene packaging, microbeads, oxo-degradable plastics, takeaway coffee cups and lids and polystyrene cups. Cotton buds with cardboard or bamboo shafts are available online and from many supermarkets. They use organic cotton, a cardboard or bamboo shaft and paper or cardboard packaging and are compostable. Oxo-degradable plastics are conventional plastics such as HDPE, like carrier bags, which include additives to promote oxidation resulting in smaller, brittle fragments as they decompose, but it seems the fragments don’t dissolve, they just get smaller and smaller.

assorted-color disposable cup lot unsplash

reading

I really enjoyed Hannah Kent’s previous two books, Burial Rites (2013) and The Good People (2016). I found her third book a bit more difficult. It is based on her Prussian/German ancestry and history around Hahndorf, in the Adelaide Hills. Some of my ancestors also came from Prussia and settled in the same area of South Australia. They left Prussia to escape religious persecution. Like many Australians I have a diverse genetic mix, in my case, Norwegian, English and Scottish plus German.

This story is like a grown up fairy tale or ghost story. It’s about Hanne, a German girl who ends up living in the Adelaide Hills as a ghost, having died on the ship journey to Australia. Before her death she was confused about her identity and her role within her community. She knows she doesn’t share the same interests as the other girls, but all this changes when she meets Thea, whose family also migrated to South Australia on the same ship. She continues to observe the behaviour of the people on board and stays with them when they land and eventually build their community in Hahndorf. Thea marries Hans, who wanted to marry Hanne.

Kent’s books are recognised for the level of research and historical accuracy in each. I found the information about these early settlers very interesting. Kent’s lyrical descriptions of the nature around her are wonderful but I’m not so keen on adult fantasy. Despite my reservations all the reviews are full of praise for the book and Kent’s gentle treatment of a situation which would not have been recognised within the religious sect both girls belonged to nor within the wider community at that time.

international cuddle day

2 girls sitting on floor unsplash

January 6th was International Cuddle Day. Cuddling releases oxytocin which is good for your health. A good cuddle should last at least 4 seconds! If a cuddle is not possible, a massage can result in the same health giving release of hormones, too.

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T’was The Day Before Christmas

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It might be the day before Christmas but all is not still in this house! My Mother and our son are staying and I am still running around taking care of Christmas preparations. The Christmas carols CD is on, the oven is on and the heat is high. The cards are mailed and the gifts are wrapped. The fridge is bulging but I know all the food will get eaten.

Lots of last minute jobs finally done before the Big Day. Cherries were bought, drinks enjoyed with neighbours, all the plants were watered as it is very hot (42C/108F) and the table is set for tomorrow. No crackers this year as I left it too late to order empty crackers to fill myself with chocolates, scratch and win cards and jokes. I wont be buying crackers with plastic novelties which end up in the bin after lunch!

last minute treats

Thinking about a really fast, last minute classic Christmas treat? Me too, so I made Rumballs. All you need is a 250gm packet of plain sweet biscuits crushed using a rolling pin. You can put them in a food processor to crush them but it will result in very fine crumbs and I like a few bigger, crunchy, biscuity pieces in my Rumballs.

Add a tin of condensed milk, a teaspoon of vanilla and 3 tablespoons of rum to the crushed biscuits. I add half a cup of unsweetened cocoa, too, to make the mixture firm and not too sweet. Mix with a knife. It will feel quite stiff but that means it will roll easily into small balls. I roll them in my hands but there is no way I’m including a photo of that bit as I was covered in Rumball mess!

Drop the balls into a bowl of coconut or another bowl of unsweetened cocoa. It took two of us to do this part, one rolling the sticky balls and one dropping them in the coconut or cocoa and then putting them on a lined tray to chill in the fridge. Leave for a few hours then they’re ready to serve. Delicious!

shopping and silicone covers

Wandering around while we were in Kalgoorlie, looking for stocking fillers, I spotted these silicone sheets. The packet said they stretch to cover bowls securely. I’ve tried bee wax covers. I tried bought ones and ones I made myself and they just don’t stay on in the fridge! So I bought these. I currently use silicone bowl covers. Eventually, with constant use, the covers snap and break but they do seal well for freshness.

I use these silicone covers all the time. When I saw this packet of three different sized flat covers I bought them. Back to Perth and tried them. They’re useless, they don’t seal at all! They don’t even partially seal.

So what was I going to do with three sheets of useless silicone? Well, I cut them into strips and used them as shelf liners in the fridge door where they do a good job!

New, useful fridge door shelf liners.

two great books

Very little spare time but I’ve squeezed in two books found on my son’s bookshelves.

The first was Under The Wig. A Lawyer’s Stories of Murder, Guilt and Innocence by William Clegg QC. This case book and part memoir follows the progression of the son of provincial florists who achieved mediocre success at school and went on to be a “squatter” in a London law practice and eventually, became the head of a large London firm.

Clegg write clearly and concisely. He believes everyone should have access to fair representation in court, despite their crime and outlines the consequences to the deep cuts in Legal Aid funding in the UK.

He writes about appealing to the jury and winning the trust of the judge. He seems to have a almost forensic skill for disseminating information and evidence. These are intriguing stories, well written. A good read.

The second book, Hitler’s Horses also relied on collecting, analyzing and acting on evidence. In this case, the Dutch art detective, Arthur Brand had heard a whisper that two bronzes by Josef Thorak made for Hitler had not been melted down and destroyed at the end of the war, but where held by a private collector of Third Reich memorabilia who wanted to sell them.

The Standing Horses are 4.9m (16 feet) high and 10m (33 feet) long but had been carefully concealed since they were spirited away from a secret location in East Germany before the wall fell. Originally they had stood at the front of Hitler’s New Reich Chancellery in Berlin. Brand eventually located the statues and the police retrieved them and other artworks.

This book is translated from Dutch to English and parts of the discovery and retrieval remain secret. At times the story feels awkward but it was a compelling read.

Merry Christmas and

Happy Holidays

to you all!

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Fast, Delicious Dinner, Reading and When Do You Decorate The Christmas Tree?

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fast squid, asparagus and potato dinner

Do you need a quickly prepared dinner tonight and don’t want to order take away? Gather about 250gm of thawed squid rings, 180gm asparagus, two small potatoes, two limes or lemons and about half a preserved lemon, plus oil to fry the squid. Always cook squid quickly or else it gets tough.

Preserved lemons chopped finely and lemon juice add great flavour to the squid.

Heat a heavy pan then add the oil, flash fry the squid, adding the juice and finely chopped preserved lemon twice during the process. ( Make sure you rinse the piece of preserved lemon to reduce the pickling brine on it. Also, scrape off any remaining pulp.) Meanwhile, prick the two potatoes and microwave them for three minutes, then cut them in half and brown them in with the squid.

Keeping an eye on the squid, dampen four sheets of paper towel, fold in half and place the asparagus along the shorter edge and roll up to make a cylinder. Microwave for two minutes, turn off the squid and serve. Add a little butter on the asparagus, season and enjoy!

These quantities fed two people. We followed up with a punnet of strawberries and thought it was a delicious, fast and easy dinner.

reading

Modern farmers often lead the way towards more sustainable and diverse food production. Heida , A Shepherd At The Edge Of The World, is the story of an Icelandic farmer. It immediately attracted my attention with its combination of a successful New York model returning to the family farm in Iceland in an area known as the ‘edge of the world’ and century old farming methods combined with a political career resulting from a plan to dam her farm for a power station. Old and new meet on her farm!

Heida Asgeirsdôttir’s story is told in four parts based on the four seasons. She reveals the intensity of farming five hundred Icelandic sheep close to Iceland’s most notorious volcano, Katla, which has frequently driven the inhabitants of Ljôtarstadir, her farm, away since farming began there in the twelfth century. Her life is one of earthquakes, glaciers and deadly snowfalls but also wonderful friends, adored animals, a beautiful environment and her close family. And hard work.

Icelandic sheep are a pure breed admired for their meat, wool and milk. They have not been cross bred as in other countries. The modern Icelandic sheep is a direct descendant of the sheep taken to the island by the Viking settlers in the ninth and tenth century. The ewes can raise twins and often triplets without complications.The sheep form a major part of Asgeirsdôttir’s farming responsibilities.

Asgeirsdôttir is from a family of poets and enjoys ‘poetry slams’ in the local bars. She often makes up poems when she in the tractor or shearing sheep. She is a champion shearer. Some poems are published in the book. Off season, she and her business partner travel Iceland pregnancy scanning up to 1200 ewes a day.

When a major power supply company proposed damming Asgeirsdôttir’s farm as part of a massive power station development she became active in politics, eventually blocking the development. She remains in local politics, but not at the same level, as farm work has first priority.

This is a book about a satisfying, healthy, productive life. The farmer works every day of the year and considers what is best for her animals, the land and her people. It is interesting, sometimes amusing but also thought provoking. It showed the impact one determined person can have on a huge company but also how one woman is living the life of her choice, happily and successfully.

Christmas preparations

I have two jars of dried fruit macerating in port for the Christmas fruit cakes I will make soon. I went to a huge shopping centre yesterday and did some present shopping. I’m off to a Turkish shop this afternoon to get trays of Turkish Delight to give as gifts. So I thought I had Christmas planning well considered and under control. Then I read on the UK Country Living site that there’s a day when you should put up and decorate the Christmas tree! It’s the 28th of November, the beginning of Advent, which is four weeks before the big day.

Did you know that? I asked my Mother what date we decorated the tree as children. Ever pragmatic, she told me we decorated the tree when she had time! She hadn’t heard of the four week rule, either.

Although I decorate the front gate, the entrance and the front door and put out various decorations inside the house, we don’t put up a tree anymore. According to the same article, 6% of Brits don’t put up a tree and 24% of people spend over A$200 on new decorations every year.

A note about wrapping paper. If you’re buying paper, crush it in your hand to check it doesn’t contain plastic. Paper based (can be composted and recycled) will remain crushed, those with plastic will resists crushing. Also, research the plastic contents in crackers, as the novelties all end up in the bin within days. Please avoid as much plastic as possible.

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You Know It’s Spring When…

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I really enjoy looking at all the articles published in the northern hemisphere about decorating for each new season. There’s a plethora of leaves as swags, in vases and on mantels, there’s seasonally colour framed quotes, buckets full of flowers, wreaths and especially decorated front porches. And now, all the American articles are about pumpkins and Halloween. Apart from flowers, most of my changes for spring seem to revolve around food!

SMALL, SWEET STRAWBERRIES

Spring means strawberries! They are small, aromatic and very sweet. Tart Greek sheeps’ yoghurt dolloped on dark red, sweet strawberries is a wonderful way to start the day!

CUT FLOWERS IN THE HOUSE

So many vases of fresh flowers in the house, just as I like it!

The roses have recovered from last seasons chilli thrip.

I collected the roses off the tables at Mum’s birthday lunch and reused them. Such pretty colours.

FLOWERS, FLoWERS, FLOWERS!

The garden is full of colour from tiny wood violets to blowsy roses, red and white hippiastras, Big Red geraniums, pelagoniums, nasturtiums and lavenders. The long lasting alstromerias are blooming, too.

Nothing says spring like flowers! There’s masses of flowers. After a dreadful season battling chilli thrip attacks on the roses all the bushes have all bounced back and are covered in gorgeous blooms. The garden is loud with busy bees.

FLORALS EVERYWHERE

Walk through the shopping centre and the displays of floral clothing are everywhere. Open any decorator magazine and the fabrics and wallpapers are all botanical themes. Everything from toile to eye poppingly bright florals. Pretty, fresh and such a change after the dark colours of winter.

Wallpaper with botanical prints.

Floral bed linen.

Pretty floral dresses.

Bedlinen, dresses, cushions, flowers on everything this year.

CONSTANTLY CONTROLLING WEEDS

Metropolitan Perth, where we live, has had the second wettest July on record. The weeds are thriving! I’ve experimented with a few non-toxic weed killers and have found this one works (here) Weed killing is an ongoing process. August and September were unseasonally wet, too, and we continue to have some rainy days and warm, sunny spring days in October. The weeds love this weather

THE WILLY WAG TAILS ARE NESTING OUT THE BACK

For years the willy wag tails have built nests in the back garden. Sometimes we know where they are and other years we can’t see them. If we get too near their nest they swoop close to your face. A sudden stripe of black and white and the flap of little wings and you know to move away!

I was digging in the garden a few years ago and something bit me on the heel. Looked down to see a defiant willy wag tail furiously wagging his tail at me. I think he hoped for worms as he began pecking at the newly dug soil when I stepped back.

We know when the nest are under construction as we see the willy wag tails tearing coir from the mat at the French doors. They pluck parts bare! I’ve found discarded nests in an olive tree and in roses over an arch and the coir is carefully integrated with small twigs. The tiny nests are lined with softer materials like leaves and hair from our dog

there’s fresh local asparagus

Suddenly the green grocers have bundles of fresh, locally grown asparagus. It is a perennial, so it comes up again every year. Traditionally harvested by a hand held knife some European countries are experimenting with harvesting machinery. To maintain peak freshness, asparagus is harvested at night. Asparagus is best eaten soon after picking.

I try to buy the thin ones as thicker asparagus can be a bit tough. Our favourite way to eat them is trim the ends, steam the asparagus, place it on the plate, drizzle with butter or Hollandaise sauce and top with a poached egg, parsley, salt and ground pepper. Quick lunch or dinner.

I microwave the asparagus now! I know, I took a while to try it, too, but now it’s the only way to go. Trim the spears, moisten a length of four sheets of paper towel folded in half, lay the spears in a single layer and roll the paper up to make a cylinder. Microwave for 2 minutes, check, you may have to do a minute more for thicker spears. I poach the egg in the microwave, too. (here) Actually, I made the Hollandaise sauce there, as well, but that’s a bit trickier.

other spring things

I’ve taken out the rye sourdough starter/mother and fed it. Left it in a warm place for a day. It bubbled and smelt yeasty, so I’ve made the sponge to start two loaves of sourdough rye bread. I’ve been buying bread as it’s been very wet and cold, but now it’s warmer. It takes two days to make the bread. Why do I bother? This dense loaf is very filling and has only natural ingredients. It also tastes wonderful although it may be an acquired taste!

The starter is added to flour, water, molasses and a pinch of salt to make dense, richly flavoured and very filling bread.

I make two loaves at a time. I slice the loaves and store them in the freezer, just removing what I need each day. Two loaves last 16 days.

A hot sunny day and our thoughts turned to icecreams on sticks! This is a Connoisseur Blood Orange Chocolate Icecream and it was wonderful.

What special things do you do for spring?

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Preserving Lemons, Cord Storage and Almost Instant Versatile Poached Eggs

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PRESERVING LEMONS

Do you have a glut of citrus fruit? Me too. I like the flavour of preserved lemons, typically used in Arabic and Moroccan food, although I use the lemons in a range of recipes.

Preserved lemons are easy and quick to prepare. The prepared lemons are left in the brine for about a month. Then the skins will be really soft and luscious. You need fresh lemons, salt, a jar with a screw cap lid and a sharp knife. The jar and lid need to be sterilised. This can be done in the dishwasher, the microwave or in a big pan of boiling water. Remove the jar and leave it to dry as it cools off.

Begin by washing your lemons. Meyer lemons are best. Slice off the top and the bottom of the fruit. Cut the lemons across one way and then the other, not cutting all the way through. Put a tablespoon of salt in the bottom of the now dry jar, gently ease the lemon open and add 1 tablespoon of salt, insert in the jar. Continue until the jar is full, pressing the fruit down regularly to release the juice. If the liquid doesn’t cover the fruit, squeeze some more lemons and add the juice until the all fruit is submerged. Store in the fridge. (Note, not everyone stores their preserved lemons in the fridge but I prefer to in our climate.)

Invert the jar daily for the first five days, then whenever you notice it in the fridge. Wait about three more weeks before using the preserved lemons.

To use, remove a piece of now soft lemon, scrape off the remaining pulp, rinse off the salt and finely cut the skins to include in your recipe. Delicious! Look up recipes online for Roasted Cauliflower with Capers and Preserved Lemons and Prawns with Oregano and Preserved Lemons if you need some ideas.

CORD STORAGE

Some of our electrical appliances sit together in a small area. This is dictated by access to a power point and convenience as they’re next to the oven, a large work space and the kettle is under the mug cupboard, too.

The mixer is not plugged in permanently. Its cord wouldn’t stay wound up. It is a heavy piece of equipment to move around and resists being slid from one part of the bench top to another, dragging it’s unwieldy cord behind it. The real issue is it took time and effort to wipe around it and keep the area clean.

The solution was so easy!

I bought a stick on hook, placed it out of sight on the back of the mixer and “trained” the cord to stay wound up neatly by holding it in place with a rubber band for a few days.

It’s perfect, easy and inexpensive. Problem solved.

ALMOST INSTANT POACHED EGGS

This way of poaching an egg is so easy and reliable. Pour some warm, not boiling water from the kettle into a large mug, half filling it.

Gently crack an egg into the water and microwave it for one minute. Remove the cooked egg using a slotted spoon and gently slide onto your plate.The individual power of your own microwave will determine the exact time required but my 1200 wt microwave takes a minute to cook. I like my eggs quite soft and runny so you may need more time if you like them firmer. You’ll know from your first one what to do in future, anyway.

Before you cook the egg put your bread to toast as that will take longer than the egg! I’ve heated leftover pasta sauce then slid the poached egg on top of it for a delicious, quick light dinner. So quick, so easy.

In Australia, September 15th is the National Heart Foundation’s giving day. The funds raised goes towards vital life-saving research. More Australians die every year of heart disease than from any other cause. Apparently, 70% of Australians have at least three modifiable risk factors for heart disease most of which can be reduced by eating a heart healthy diet and being active every day. Keep well and look for ways to donate to GIVEWITHHEARTDAY.COM.AU

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Flowers, Cavolo Nero, Painting and Reading

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CHANGE OF PLANS

I have been working on this blog well ahead of intended publication day as I was going to Canberra for two days and then Melbourne for three days. I’d done lots of research about the three exhibitions we’d booked tickets to see and had a list of other things I planned doing while I was in both Canberra and Melbourne. Then an outbreak of CV-19 changed our plans! Melbourne is in lockdown again. This must be very difficult for them. Anyway, I’m staying safely in Western Australia, at home and my son, who I was travelling East with is going to Darwin for four days instead. Bit sad about missing Botticelli to Van Gogh in Canberra and She-Oak and Sunlight, Australian Impressionism plus French Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, in Melbourne.

FLOWERS

Do you like fresh flowers in the house? Me, too. Not surprising, really, as my Grandmother always had flowers on the table and my Mother has at least one vase of flowers on her table, too. I like to grow most of our cut flowers. It’s hard to find out where bought flowers come from but apparently most roses come from overseas. I enjoy gardening and these flowers are so freshly cut they last longer.

The roses above are mostly from my Mother’s garden. The entire area around where we live has a terrible infestation of chili thrip* which is decimating the roses. The recommended treatments are making very little difference. It’s early to prune the bushes but I’m considering it to try and nurture healthy roses in spring. Any advice about successful treatments would be very welcome!

*Chilli thrip (Scirtothrips dorsalis) feed on roses, all citrus as well as a range of fruit and vegetable hosts. Originally from Asia, chilli thrip is gradually achieving global distribution.

CAVOLO NERO

Common in Italian cuisine, cavolo nero is a blackish cabbage, very similar to kale. I bought it because it looked so interesting. I combined a Maggie Beer recipe with some other general directions and made this BRAISED CAVOLO NERO, which we ate with squid and potatoes.

Rinse the cavolo nero leaves and dry them. I used a bunch to make dinner for two but it would feed four if you were serving other vegetables, too. It tastes better than it looks!

The ingredients are simple. Gather the washed cavolo nero, two cloves of garlic, a lemon ( usually, but I only had fresh limes so that’s what I used and they tasted very good) about five anchovies, because I like the salty, surprising taste when they break up amongst the vegetable. You also need some olive oil for cooking and about half a cup of water.

Fold the cavolo nero leaf in half longways and slice out the stem. I kept the stems to make minestrone! Apparently that’s the typical thing to do in Italy. Then cut the leaves sideways into slices. Put the oil in a heavy based pan and when it’s hot add the garlic and anchovies. The anchovies disintegrate a bit during cooking. Add the leaves, squeeze on the citrus juice and stir them about. The leaves shrink quite a lot. After about five minutes add the water and let it cook until the water has evaporated.

Served with some flash fried squid, a potato and another squeeze of lime. Healthy and fast, although preparing the leaves is a bit of a faff.

I made a very traditional minestrone, including the stems from the cavolo nero this time, but I didn’t add the pasta when I was cooking it. As the soup lasts two of us about three days the pasta becomes mushy after the first day. So I cook a little fresh al dente pasta and put it into the minestrone just before I serve it each day.

PAINTING

I’ve discovered ZOOM painting sessions and have really enjoyed them. I did an Amy Stewart session and painted four birds. This led to me painting a fairy wren, too.

Later I did a session with Marietta Cohen. It began with a guided sketching and painting lesson of cherry blossom, based on a traditional Japanese painting “Fukurokuju Cherry Blossom” created by K Tsunoi, in 1921. Later I sourced the original piece of art and did a full sized painting.

Also did a couple of travel diary paintings on our time down south. I love seeing other peoples sketches and paintings from their trips and am working on doing the same thing. Needs more work!

For some years I have painted botanical paintings. I wanted to try more relaxed casual paintings of flowers. Just realised most of the flowers I’ve painted are pink!

READING

I’ve just read “The Only Street In Paris” written by Elaine Sciolino. First saw this author referred to a on a blog reviewing “Emily In Paris”, then she was mentioned in another review. So I bought the book and I’m so glad I did, too. Of course, I bought it through Book Depository, using the link on the blog side bar! The author, Elaine Sciolino is a contributing writer and former Paris bureau chief for the New York Times. She has lived in Paris with her husband and two daughters since 2002.

“The Only Street In Paris, Life on the Rue des Martyrs” refers to the street in Paris where Sciolino and her family live in an apartment. Published in 2016, this book is the result of detailed research. Located in the ninth arrondissement, Sciolino introduces us to a rich collection of characters in her street. We meet the green grocer, the butcher, the baker, the cheese man, the knife sharpener and even a repairer of antique barometers. There’s a Synagogue, and a famous old church in dire need of restoration, so devout Catholic Sciolino writes to the Pope for assistance. There’s no reply.

There’s cafes, restaurants, bars and night clubs. She writes about famous people who have lived in the street and about the history of the street going back centuries. The buildings in many cases are untouched by progress and many shelter unseen gardens behind their remaining courtyard doors.

The survival of traditional specialist shops in Paris is made possible by legislation protecting them from multi-national and chain stores moving into some of these streets.Sciolino’s acute observations and mulinational cast of shopkeepers, mixed with the history of the area, makes this a compelling read.

Hello WINTER in the Southern Hemisphere, hello SUMMER in the Northern Hemisphere!

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Emily in Paris and Mending

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EMILY IN PARIS

Have you been watching Emily In Paris? It had been recommended to us but the description didn’t really appeal until I read a blog written by an American woman living in the south of France. Her thoughtful comments on sophistication and cultural differences apparent in the series interested me. Time to find out what was causing the furore.

Emily, played by Lily Collins, is a social media marketing guru. She’s unexpectedly sent from Chicago to Paris when the company she works for buys a small French PR company, Savoir. Non-French speaking Emily is on a mission to get the French company using social media for their luxury branding company, the American way, of course! Energetic, determined and totally culturally unaware, she finds herself in every clichéd situation imaginable.

Sometimes funny, sometimes painful and often unbelievable, this fairy tale takes you on a great journey through Paris. Written by Darren Star who also wrote Sex In The City, there’s beautiful people, gorgeous clothes and all the famous Parisian sites plus glittering events.

I think we kept watching because we’ve been in a similar position. We moved to a country where few people spoke English. We’d been there quite a few times before and had worked hard on being culturally aware. We knew some local staff members. My husband had a driver and interpreter but I needed to find an apartment, organise schooling, sort out shopping for food (mostly from the local market down the road) plus furniture and everything else we needed to live there for some years. I didn’t have an interpreter most of the time. I learnt what I call “market” language. Room for many misunderstandings! We had to live in a compound with other expat families who luckily also spoke English, which was helpful.

bike leaning against handrail in front of concrete building at daytime

Emily is extremely confident, creating some obvious opportunities for cultural awkwardness. She slowly becomes more attuned to the nuances of French behaviour. Sometimes funny, always fast moving, very glamorous this is an entertaining series. There’s a second series scheduled for this year. Cleverly, the announcement was issued under the letterhead of Savoir, the luxury promotions company Emily works for in the series. It includes her bosses comment; “We hope that by extending her time in Paris Emily will…delve deeper into our culture and perhaps pick up a few words of basic French.” We’ll be watching.

MENDING

MENDing 1

One of the planters on this narrow ledge was disintegrating. This is the top of a retaining wall and gets good sunlight during the day. I have two planters both planted with blueberry bushes. I couldn’t find a replacement planter of the right size. I would have to replace two, as well, as they sit side by side and something different would look strange. I went hunting for a way to repair the one falling apart. The planters are made of fibreglass.

Lots of online research led me to Builders Filler, a two part filler intended for repairing metal, wood, concrete and fibreglass. Following the directions I thoroughly cleaned the surface to be repaired and then read and re-read the instructions.

Preparation involved mixing the filler and the hardener and then using it immediately. The job was done with the blueberry and soil remaining in the planter as it was too hard to do it any other way.

The filler dried very quickly. It is as hard as the fibreglass and filled the hole well.

Left to cure for several hours then sanded the patched area.

Used a damp cloth to remove the dust created by sanding the planter box and then painted over the mend. It’s not perfect but looks a lot better.

mending 2

This shabby chic/rustic bird house came from an open garden day on a farm down south. The farmer had used leftover scraps of timber to make a few bird houses. They were pretty rough but that was part of the appeal. I’ve had this one for at least five years and bits were beginning to fall off the front.

Quick clean then I used Liquid Nails to glue the pieces back on. All pretty rough. My usual clamps are pegs but the wood was too thick, so I used masking tape. Left it over night to cure. I realise this piece does not have a long life expectancy but it’s fine for now!

MENDING 3

This mohair rug is thrown over our doona most nights. We have used it for about 20 years. During that time I have repaired it a few times as it is quite loosely woven. The latest problem occurred when the dog jumped onto the bed and his claws got caught in the fringing.

Spread it out on the table to assess the damage. Hard to see what a tangled mess it’s in but I’ve repaired this rug before and got to work. The pulled threads were a mess. I used a long, blunt needle to gently push the weft threads back up. Then I had to thread the two lengths pulled out of place and stitch them back where they belonged.

All good….until next time!

Now it has become a chair throw instead of a bed throw. It was really fiddly mending this rug. It took more than two hours to repair and is so loosely woven it could easily become damaged again. Much safer on the chair.

Did you know modelling predicts it will take 550 years for a disposable nappy to decompose entirely?

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