Home Alone

May 4, 2015July 16, 2015 / susiecameron / 2 Comments

It’s been a quiet week here with hubby overseas playing golf in China and then in Singapore for a week working to pay for our new ensuite! It is coming along beautifully and will most probably be just about finished in another week. The Tradies have been great and very dedicated – the painter was here Saturday and Sunday getting it done. As wonderful as it is that they are all pitching in, it is a constant battle for me to keep young Bailey out from under their feet. She LOVES them all. They all smell good and leave a trail of tasty offcuts of underlay and gyprock for her to chew. Their paint buckets provide her with endless fascination (and a white nose and whiskers) and they all have little eskies with yummy foody treats. To be honest she is going to be rather bored once they go. So, between the rain and avoiding the tradies we have been locked in the lounge or in the car trying not to be a nuisance to everyone.

Progress with the ensuite – 10 days to go!!

I escaped for one day to Sydney and Bailey was fantastic in the car. Due to the dreadful weather it was a 3 hour journey each way and she just slept and happily sat in the front of the car with me – not even a comfort stop until we reached Paddington where Tom was going to babysit for a few hours while I got my hair done. Tom’s mates all came for a play with Bailey at the park and she rewarded them with lots of puppy love.They all had fun and we went to lunch in Double Bay where she was the centre of attention with so many people wanting to pat her and regale me with tales of their dogs. As Tom said “the best chick magnet EVER”!! She was very well behaved and I’m thankful that she likes to travel and is easy with people.

2015-04-30 13.55.26 Lunch at Indigo – yummy!

I have enrolled her in puppy pre-school with The Berry Vets. It is a 4 week course and should help her socialise with other dogs and learn the ropes. So far she has only met Wally – a 1 year old black Lab who lives in our Lane and was SO EXCITED to see Bailey he nearly choked himself trying to say hello to her. She was initially pleased to see him too but then just froze, lay down and refused to move!

At 14 weeks she is still learning alot.

She loves tomatoes and eats them as often as she can steal them from the vine.
She sits and shows immense discipline as she waits for her meals. Her whole body quivers in anticipation until I give her the go ahead. I have the power….
She wakes EVERY morning at 5.55 am (or earlier) and then goes back to sleep at 7 am (just when I have to be up to welcome the builders….)
She still loves flowers – very rarely will she pass by and NOT have a smell or nip at them.
She adores any empty containers or rolly tubey things and will fetch and drop them for hours if I had the patience.

As I was about to post this an atrocity was committed…

She had been rather quiet (always a bad sign) but I thought she was asleep and I went out onto the veranda to get something to find this…..

Guess I won’t be wearing them to the wedding on Saturday then…

She got into BIG trouble for this and she slunk off to her bed looking very sheepish. Not a happy camper.

(A few nice things coming up in the next couple of weeks so watch this space……….)

Anzac Day in a country town

April 28, 2015July 27, 2015 / susiecameron / 2 Comments

What a wonderful morning we had commemorating the 100 year anniversary of Gallipoli. We have been to a few dawn services in Sydney’s Martin Place which were always special and full of the pomp and ceremony you would expect, but somehow this years simple and inclusive ceremony in Berry resonated more. Maybe it made us more aware of that ‘everyday’ guy who signed up – often from the country – just doing what he had to do, and as I had my morning cuppa at sunrise (thanks to Bailey) outside looking over the fields I was very aware that they would have had absolutely no idea what they were signing up for. Whereas a new day always holds hope for me I’m sure that dawn in Gallipoli would hold a different feeling altogether for the diggers. Those of you who know my family history would understand that this was a very emotional day and tears were flowing at several different stages of the day as I witnessed both the very young and very old come together over a mutual love of Australia and the life we live here, thanks in part to the sacrifice of these men and women so many years ago. #lestweforget 2015-04-25 10.32.04 2015-04-25 10.32.17 Loved seeing the nurses represented too…. 2015-04-25 10.30.51

Everyone came out to march

2015-04-25 10.20.42 2015-04-25 10.33.04 2015-04-25 10.33.24 2015-04-25 10.22.44 Catching up with old mates at the pub. Cam has left for a 2 week trip to China, Hong Kong and Singapore leaving Bailey and I to hold the fort. Before he left we pulled off our work clothes and spruced up to have a farewell dinner at South on Albany and how glad we were that we made the effort to go out as we had a delicious meal. Such a pleasant surprise to be able to get such good quality food here in the country- as good if not better than lots in Sydney and at a reasonable price too. We will definitely be back here again. Confit of duck on cauliflower puree – scrumptious!!

Please note the option to have a glass of local milk!!!

Our curtains were installed this week, great timing as the cold weather and rain have arrived at the same time. It’s quite amazing what a difference window coverings make, they really dress a room and frame the windows. As we didn’t want anything to block our beautiful view of the Cambewarra escarpment we took the advice of the lovely Nola who organised the making of the curtains and went with a linen curtain and we are very happy that we did as they hang beautifully in between the windows and on a sunny day they blow gently in the breeze and remind me of my childhood in England where everyone had the ubiquitous ‘net curtains’ to ensure privacy without blocking light. The dining room also got the dress up treatment and we are a step closer to having a completed room. A 3 metre oak table with some new chairs has been spotted and mentally purchased and I can just imagine long lunches with friends and family in the winter with the fire crackling……

While the sun has been out after all the rain I have tried to make the most of it and attack the garden – specifically the veggie patch which has suffered a lot during the bad weather. We have weeds up to our ankles both in the garden beds and throughout the pebbles! I read somewhere that pouring boiling water over them kills them and as its a chemical free option I am going to give it a whirl this week if the weather holds. As lots of summer crops are finishing – tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce – I realise I haven’t been thinking ahead enough and have experienced the dreaded phenomena of ‘spare beds’ unplanted and bare. Next year I will be far more aware of what to plant when, but this year I just about have time to plant a few more caulis and cabbage, spinach, onions and leeks as well as peas of all descriptions before the weather becomes wintry and slows down all the growth, so I spent today weeding and planting while Bailey raced round and around the garden her little ears flapping behind her as she just enjoyed the pure joy of being a puppy in the country!! Eventually she collapsed exhausted in the middle of a garden bed….!! OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA I harvested the last of the tomatoes and decided to try and bottle them for a taste of summer. I slow roasted them in the oven with some garlic (thanks to Karen and Phil Riley @ Milton) basil and thyme and then immersed them in extra virgin olive oil with some salt, pepper and the odd chilli. They should be great for pasta sauces in the middle of winter when the sun seems a long way away….. A touch of summer deliciousness ready for the oven….

The Big Wet

April 22, 2015April 22, 2015 / susiecameron / 4 Comments

Well here we are on day 4 of the relentless rain. I am snuggled up near the fire with a sleeping puppy at my feet listening to it cascade down on our tin roof and fill up what is fast becoming a large pond in our front garden.

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Paddling pools?

We are usually blessed with lovely weather but every now and again Mother Nature likes to remind us who is boss that’s for sure. It certainly hasn’t been as bad here as in Sydney with no big winds or thunderstorms – just loads of rain. I am very grateful that everything inside is perfect – a great tester for any potential leaks etc and the old house has passed with flying colours.
The builders have even managed to get some stuff done this week, ironically today they came and did the ‘waterproofing’ and popped on an extra coat just in case!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Good progress despite the weather!!

The boys have been great and have even been happy to look after Bailey on the odd occasion I have had to leave for a few hours. She loves to hang out with them when they have morning tea on the veranda – lots of interesting things to discover out there – odd bits of underlay and gyprock fragments, she spent 2 hours playing with a lid from a tin of plaster yesterday andthen comes inside exhausted to pass out in her new favourite spot next to the fire.

Puppy Heaven………

However she has had rather an explorative week and if we dont click the doors properly when we shut them she sometimes nudges them open and goes off on Puppy adventures….She does have a penchant for shoes, so far we have been lucky and she just ‘rearranges’ them….Can’t wait to get everything put away into our new walk- in dressing room!

Sometime she brings me floral tributes from the garden to say sorry…………

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A snapshot of a soggy day in The Meadow. Chooks not happy as they look for higher ground- only getting 1 egg a day sadly.

At least they are getting to be a better size

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Luckily our mates and lovely neighbours from Rozelle came down to stay before the heavens opened and we had a lovely time. We started with a nice lunch at Silos overlooking the vines and the alpacas – yummy food and a couple of bottles of wine and some shared desserts later we came home more relaxed and ready for more stories and The Tahs game! The next day after a Cammo brekky special they insisted on being helpful in the garden. This basically equated to Craig wanting to cut things down – preferably with power tools and Fiona brandishing the secateurs with a professional air and doing an amazing job dead heading the entire agapanthus hedge bordering the property. We were slicing the last of them off when the rain started and it hasn’t stopped for 4 days! Great timing guys – thanks so much! I don’t miss that damn persimmon tree one bit or the bats that used to hang out there, I think the veggie patch will get more sunshine and less fruit fly now – yay!!!

Welcome to the Meadow!!

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A bit of hard yakka – hand tools only – sorry Smeds!

Our worker extraordinaire!

A thank you box of our own produce.

South Coasting

April 14, 2015July 27, 2015 / susiecameron / 8 Comments

I have had a lovely week enjoying all the loveliness of the South Coast in Autumn. We have new calves on an almost daily basis in The Lane, the veggie patch is finally giving me beautiful ripe tomatoes and an abundance of heavy shiny eggplants, leeks and heirloom beetroot and I have a beautiful new fire and the beginnings of an en suite bathroom! What more could a girl ask for…..
Some small visitors were delighted by Bailey and she in turn loved them and had a wonderful old time careering around and around the garden chasing them and playing tug of war .

Ben and Isabelle in a love triangle with Bailey……

.. Belle and Bailey

She is growing like a weed and becoming quite cheeky. I love her best when we go for a walk and she veers from one side of the lane to the other scampering through puddles and nipping at the tall grass. She leaps ahead of me – not a care in the world – with her ears flapping as she runs through the tall grass in the paddock and then drops down in it so I can hardly see her, just as if she was playing hide and seek. Nothing like the exuberance and carefree nature of a puppy to make you feel good about life.

Love our country walks.

I don’t feel quite so in love with her at 5.30 in the morning when she decides that her day begins and I drag myself out of bed to let her out of the house. Ironically that was the time I used to have to get up in Sydney to go to work and I used to moan about doing it 3 times a week – now I’m doing it EVERYDAY!!! I think the time is close to relocate her bed from the laundry to the outside where we have a very large storage cupboard on our side veranda which is protected and safe but where I can leave the door open and she can help herself to the great outdoors when she feels the need.

Our new Jetmaster fire has arrived in the nick of time as the evenings are starting to get chilly. The boys had a fair bit of drilling out of bricks in the existing chimney to make it fit but I absolutely love it and despite it not being “real” it gives a lovely atmosphere as well as throwing out a lot of heat, being instant and with a remote which I can activate from my bed – bliss!! I have a mantelpiece to finish it off that I intend painting this week. It was a bit of a bargain but only came in white so armed with some sandpaper and a tin of black paint I intend to transform it into a vision of beauty to complete the vintage look – hopefully it will look as if it has always been here!

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Before, During and After installation.

The mantelpiece awaiting transformation

Day 1 of the build arrived and Scott, Mathew and James arrived with all their bash and crash gear and proceeded to strip our adjoining room to it’s bare walls and floors within a very short period of time. Luckily I had been invited to a book launch and lunch in Mollymook so I left Bailey in their tender care and scarpered.

Phil and Karen had organised my ticket to the book launch of Paul West aka The River Cottage Australia guy who we so enjoyed watching last year when we were still in Sydney just dreaming of our future life in the country. His story was a bigger version of our past 3 months and hearing him talk now about the hard work (but great reward) involved in growing your own food it really resonated with me. As I looked around the room and later started talking to people at our ‘long lunch table’ I was so happy to be involved in a community that values the simple joys of growing and cooking your own food. The South Coast really does seem to have a large proportion of foodies and on our table alone we had an apiarist who fascinated us potential beekeepers with his tales, a vineyard owner (Cupitts) who makes her own cheese, a couple of girls from Ulladulla who were in the process of applying for the next round of MKR and of course our very own Phil and Karen Riley who are now breeding pigs, cows, chooks and have just sent off for their first beehive. It is very rewarding to be surrounded by people who think the same way and know exactly how frustrating farming (however small) can be. The lunch was at Tallwood which is a great little restaurant in the strip at Mollymook with some talented young chefs. Today they cooked 3 courses from the book and all 3 were very well received. 1. Veggie Pakoras with minty yoghurt (my personal fave and recipe in kitchen section) 2. Coq au Vin with green beans, labne, shallots and almonds and 3. Hazelnut Syrup Cake with candied oranges and creme fraiche. Not a bad way to spend a Monday……….

2015-04-13 15.29.37 A great day at Tallwood for The River Cottage book launch Yummy Hazelnut Syrup Cake

When I came home from the lunch I was amazed and pleasantly suprised with the progress that the Bash and Crash boys had made. I LOVE building and renovating, it’s always so exciting to see something “become” the vision you’ve had in your head and even at this early stage it is starting to come alive – not just a few sketches and brochures. The Block meets The Meadow!

And so it begins……. 2015-04-13 16.42.15 A few hours later!!!!!!!!!!!

Easter

April 6, 2015April 6, 2015 / susiecameron / 4 Comments

Despite the fact that I am married to a cocoa trader and every shop within cooeee is groaning with confectionery the eggs that are most special to me this Easter ARE OURS!!!

Drum roll please folks…………….our chooks are finally laying!!

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Proudly introducing to you …….our first dozen!!!

Funnily enough it is the 2 newest chooks who are doing the business and our original 5 are still blissfully unaware of their expected contribution to our household. Hopefully they will get the message after seeing the others crowing proudly after they have laid their eggs in the nesting boxes and soon we will be giving our house guests a dozen eggs each to take home!

The long weekend has seen the arrival of our sons for some R & R and we managed to squish in a few activities before the rain started to chuck down. Tom came straight down from the airport after flying back from Hong Kong. This wasn’t because he missed his parents but because he couldn’t wait another minute to meet Bailey. Only when she was crashed out after playing did he have time for us and for a bit of practice for his golfing weekend next week.

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Sam arrived in time for perfect weather conditions for our bonfire so beers in hand we all ventured outdoors to witness the lighting of the fire. As the first crackling erupted we realised this was going to be a BIG fire and decided to get the hose ready just in case – unfortunately it didn’t reach anywhere near the bonfire site so we were reduced to a laundry bucket of water on standby (I’m pretty sure the RFS would NOT have been impressed….)

Who were we kidding?????

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The symbolic lighting of the fire….praying that the wind wouldn’t change direction.

Success

Just Tom and the bucket to fight any impending disastersA job well done!

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Celebrating with a home made chicken pie and a bottle of red! (recipe in kitchen page)

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Luckily Easter Saturday dawned bright blue and sunny and we set off, the mad family of 4.5, to 7 Mile Beach for a swim and a bit of a run or walk to burn off the excess food and wine. Bailey LOVED it and happily chased the boys and the waves and said hello to anyone and everyone who was walking on the beach (they all loved her of course!)

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Come to Pappa……

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Little pawprints in the sand…. One tired but happy pup

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Unconditional love – both ways.

Wayne and I were pretty excited as we had planned to harvest our heirloom carrots to have for Easter lunch and when we ceremoniously pulled them up expecting beautiful long purple and orange carrots we were rather disappointed. What we had were mutant ninja carrots all curled and twisted around each other. Pretty sure they wouldn’t pass muster at Woollies that’s for sure. However when we roasted them they had great flavour so I will persevere growing them – perhaps I planted them too far apart and they had too much room to move as they grew??????

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Ugly veggies that taste great…………!!!

20150405_115846 Relax time

A great veranda for a catch up and a beer or three….

Before lunch I took the boys to Silos Winery to show them the set up and indulge in a little wine tasting. We couldn’t believe it when we bumped into one of Lauren’s best friends from school days tasting right next to us. Loads of Sydney people down here enjoying the South Coast for the long weekend.

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I love you Sam says Bailey!! Time to say goodbye to Bailey and go back to work. Loved our weekend boys xx

Settling in

March 30, 2015July 27, 2015 / susiecameron / 3 Comments

We are starting to feel very much at home down here in The Meadow, especially now little Bailey has come to live with us. We have no choice but to wake up at dawn which luckily is about 6.30am this week but will be an hour earlier after Easter (!!!) to attend to the little one’s needs. The one good thing about this is that we are seeing how beautiful the sunrise is as well as the early morning mists that hang low over the fields until the first few rays of sunshine break through.

We have also been taking her for little walks up and down the lane to get used to life outside the cattle grids! She doesn’t get her injections until April 16th so can’t really go to places where other dogs hang out in case she gets something nasty. We will be taking her to the Berry Vets for her jabs. Some of you may have seen them on the Lifestyle channel as they have their own show called Village Vets Australia (series 2 coming soon) where they share their stories of local animals and their various issues. Be warned – some of them are a bit sad. Anyway they seem like lovely guys who do a lot for the local community so let’s hope they give Bailey lots of TLC if and when she ever needs them.

( http://www.lifestyle.com.au/tv/village-vets-australia/ )

So the lane is starting to become a rather exciting world outside of her familiar backyard and provides me with some nice rural scenes all from our immediate vicinity. How lucky am I?.

Work wise we had a big weekend with the arrival of Tim and his bobcat/bulldozer thingy. We had some big mounds of a dubious nature that we needed to flatten and remove and also a few not so fabulous trees that were squished in between lovely trees that we needed a bit of help removing. 5 truckloads of building debris and soil later we have a relatively clean looking yard. We now have 2 huge bonfires to light over Easter when the official fire season is over and we no longer have to apply for a permit to light backyard fires. As our sons Sam and Tom will be here and they love a good fire we will do it then – marshmallows anyone?

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Some treasures we unearthed during the earth removal…..

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Autumn is starting to arrive in the garden

Operation persimmon has been progressing well with the tree having been severely chopped and the fruit has been gathered and smuggled off into various bins in Berry, Bomaderry and Nowra! As all the fruit had fruit fly, it had to be destroyed. I swear it’s the most heavily laden fruit tree that I have ever seen and we have had to do all the hard work involved in a harvest but just to destroy the fruit. If only it had been a fig or mango tree I would have done everything in my power to spray and net it but unfortunately persimmons just don’t float my boat.

Luckily I can get plenty of beautiful local organically grown figs through Greenbox which is a not-for-profit co-operative that aims to provide local, sustainable, organic and minimally packaged food at affordable prices to the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and the South Coast of NSW. I have volunteered to start working for them after Easter and there are many options – from picking up produce from the farms to collating orders online to packing and then delivering to customers. I think it will be a nice way to meet some like minded locals and to get involved in the food industry down here. (www.greenbox.org.au)

SO it’s been a big first week for Bailey (and for us) although it feels as if she has been with us for a lot longer. She already sleeps through from 9.30pm to 6.30-7 am with no crying and just a wee on the newspaper provided. She can sit on command and is happy to do as much or as little as we can throw at her! We love her to bits already!

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It’s a hard life for a puppy!

Bailey

March 24, 2015July 27, 2015 / susiecameron / 8 Comments

I feel like a new parent. My life is now revolving around feeds and toilet training and sleep patterns and we have to play tag team to leave the house.

There is no baby however. Instead we have welcomed an 8 week old labrador puppy into our lives for better or for worse! Luckily Bailey has so far been a great little pup and has a cuteness factor of 10 which helps offset the aforementioned impact on our life. This is day 4 and the first day it is just her and I at home together. It is also bucketing down with rain which is making toilet training a little dismal. On days like this I usually love being able to come here to the computer to write, however we have decided not to let the main part of the house be available to Bailey – she is restricted to the back part which can be shut off; this however is causing me to feel guilty as I am now out of sight/smell/play. Luckily spotify and my mobile phone has come to the rescue and I am playing music on shuffle to make her feel included!!

I have indeed lost the plot.

However, so far it’s working – despite the fact she seems to particularly enjoy Michael Buble whereas I prefer Andre Boccelli….

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Tuckered out on her way from Batemans Bay to the Meadow…

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She has actually been very good with hardly any night time crying and just like any good Labrador she demolishes her 3 meals a day until she looks like a sack of spuds – her belly is so extended she looks like she will explode. As long as I get her straight away and whisk her off into the garden she goes to the toilet thus making room for the next meal! she has been “helping” us in the garden and is fearless amongst the chickens – she comes with us when we let them out in the morning. The chickens aren’t too sure however (yet ANOTHER reason we still have no eggs I guess…).

Day 1 with the chooks

“Please can I come in?”

Yesterday we took her to the beach. She looked so little as she followed Cam down the path to the sand. Covered in sand she embraced the ocean and loved chasing Wayne in and out of the breaking waves. Shivering and trembling as she waited on the sand for him to finish his swim I was hoping I hadn’t expected too much of her too early but 10 minutes later she was happily pottering around the park bench as Cam and I polished off a couple of cheeseburgers from a great little place in Gerringong. We are so happy she loves the beach as we envisage many walks on it with her as she gets bigger.

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Things she loves so far:

An empty yoghurt pot which she chases round and round for ages

A vibrant orange $3.50 “fetch and play” set from the $2 shop

Her toy cow

twigs

music – especially Michael Buble and whistling

flowers – she actually smells them ( and sometimes eats them)

cuddles

food

Claydon Park

March 24, 2015July 27, 2015 / susiecameron / 2 Comments

The breeder from whom we bought Bailey very kindly offered to drive half way from her place at Batemans Bay to Conjola to complete the exchange. As she wanted to meet us at 5.30pm we decided to make the most of our few remaining hours of freedom (for a while anyway) to meet up with our friends at nearby Milton where we had a lovely lunch at “The Tipsy Fig”. They have a beautiful property (Claydon Park) and we went back to admire their new batch of piglets and to meet their little 4 month old Lab – Chloe. She was just gorgeous, lolloping beside Karen as she showed us the farm. If Bailey is half as sweet we will be happy

The new piglets

Saying hi to Corona….

Best friends up to mischief..

The beautiful homestead

The boys off to check fences

Some of the lovely outbuildings

Karen has her own drying shed full of garlic, onions and potatoes (she only needs a drinks fridge and some music and she has her very own party shed!)

Says it all really…!!

Unfortunately they have a calf that isn’t well. She was almost abandoned by her mother at birth because she couldn’t stand up. Of course that is how they feed and I suppose nature has a way of dealing with these things. Karen and Phil weren’t going to give up so easily however….

She was anaemic and lacking in protein so ‘Katie’ has had supplements and injections to help her along as well as bottles of milk and has managed to stand up occasionally and hobble along for a few steps. She has swollen leg joints reminiscent of arthritis and she tries desperately to get to her mother when she manages to stand. Phil and Karen are busy building a hospital shed where Katie can stay out of the weather and close to the farm and her mother. Hopefully things will start to resolve as she grows.

Little Katie, such a beautiful face. Fingers crossed she will pull through and get strong soon.

2015-03-20 16.14.01 The new hospital shed

I’m not in Kansas anymore….

March 17, 2015March 17, 2015 / susiecameron / 4 Comments

When we bought this house I used to daydream on a daily basis about what I was gong to do once I got down here. I bought every “country style” magazine that is published in Australia AND the UK. I had pinterest boards coming out of my ears. I had organic gardening books and books on how to raise chickens. I went to the vintage markets every weekend for the past 12 months where I collected vintage teacups and saucers for afternoon tea on my new veranda and I went to the auctions and invested in some unusual pieces of furniture for the new dream house…..All of that was very worthwhile and amazingly everything fits into the new house beautifully, but the reality is somewhat different from my imaginings. I am yet to have anything other than a mug of tea or a glass of wine on that veranda (although a recent birthday prezzy from my sister and a gorgeous tray from Tina would make it VERY easy to enjoy a proper afternoon tea and the Davie girls gifts of the most beautiful cake platters also make me think I should be baking every weekend!!)
This week has seen a more practical version of life in the country….
Firstly we noticed one of the new chooks was limping and standing with one foot in the air all the time. It was also the one being left out the most – not part of the gang at all. When Wayne finally managed to catch it (it was MOST unimpressed) we could see that one of its toes or claws had snapped and was at a horrible angle making it impossible for it to walk and uncomfortable to roost. I raced inside to get our first aid kit and managed to use a band aid to straighten it and provide some stability for it while it healed. Wayne wanted me to pour disinfectant over it but this chicken had a cranky glint in it’s eye and I ‘chickened out’ and ended up using a fancy band aid that had a silver antibiotic lining instead! Nothing but the best for our chookies! I am pleased to report that she is walking much better every day and is starting to join in the action with the others. However…..WE STILL HAVE NO EGGS. These chickens are just taking their sweet time to start laying. So far just the one tiny ‘fear driven’ egg has arrived at number 80.

Our next reality check came in the form of a bat. I got up one night at 3am for a drink of water and when I put the light on in the bathroom a huge flapping shadow absolutely freaked me out. I thought it was a giant moth or similar and fell like a drunk against the bathroom door jamb whilst hysterically brushing the air to make sure it didn’t come near me. I have an amazing rainbow of bruises on my right side to show for it. Amazingly I completely forgot to tell Wayne about it the next day and it wasn’t until we were about to take our first mouthful of our delicious roast dinner that night and the ‘moth’ returned flying round and round our lounge room that I realised it was a bat. Luckily not one of the ginormous ones that are eating all my fruit trees but a smaller one that we think must be living in the eaves of the veranda. Goodness knows how it got in – hopefully it just snuck in when we had the door open one night and doesn’t have a direct entry visa into our house. We turned off all the lights and shut all the bedroom doors and it eventually accepted our open door invitation to leave the building, flying straight out the front door.

The final reality check that I am now in the ‘real’ country came yesterday when we were attempting to finish our huge mulching job in the garden. We place newspapers over the ground and then put the hay thickly on top to prevent any oxygen and sunlight getting through. It has to be watered in at all stages to prevent it all blowing away. The hose was spluttering and not performing and we thought it had a kink in it or something but the fact of the matter was that we had run out of water in our rain tank!!!!! Being city folk we just turned on the tap and presumed we had a limitless supply of water not realising that most of the outside taps were connected to the rainwater tank. We have had hardly any rain in the 2 months we’ve been her and of course with all the work we are doing in the garden we have been using copious quantities of it. Now we are reduced to fetching watering cans of water from the ‘town water tap’ about an acre away from the veggie patch which is arduous to say the least.
Seriously contemplating doing a rain dance tomorrow………

Life in The Lane

March 16, 2015July 27, 2015 / susiecameron / Leave a comment

This week has seen a bit of preparation here at number 80. For the puppy, for the next lot of planting in the veggie garden, for the new ensuite build and for winter! After the odd cold day we have had a glimpse of what is to come once the weather turns. Our neighbours have mentioned several times the bitter westerly winds that blow in the winter and we are half dreading it already. We have arranged for a new Jetmaster fire to be installed and hopefully it will be delivered next week. The beautiful Autumn days we are experiencing now are just delicious and as this is nearly the last week of daylight saving we are making the most of the long days and the darkish mornings (much easier to sleep in a bit if it’s dark!!) We are also aware that our life will change next week with the arrival of Bailey as she will be like a small baby, waking early and needing to be taken outside straight away for a bit of toilet training!

We have been like impending parents – getting her sleeping area all spick and span and buying all the paraphernalia needed for a dog. We are now the proud owners of a bed (high sided to protect her from those pesky westerlies everyone keeps talking about) and with a removable cosy base cushion so she can feel all snuggly. Also a collar and lead (matching pink and brown stripes – so chic she wouldn’t look out of place in Paris….!!) a couple of non spill bowls for food and water and a little toy to play with (in the hope she will leave my garden beds alone??). Then we have the poop bags which are colour co-ordinated with the little zip bag they come in which can attach to the lead and a brush to keep her coat all lovely and shiny. Now all we need is her and the “To Do” list that she comes with telling us all her food requirements…..

2015-03-14 10.49.38

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The builders are all ready for the start of our ensuite installation. I have been collecting paint charts, stone samples for bench tops and have a new found knowledge of close coupled toilets and water volumising showerheads, semi inset basins (as opposed to semi recessed) and the horrendous price of anything that looks like marble – even if it isn’t!! I have been almost banned from the kitchen shop in Nowra where I have been going to check out all the different samples. They keep asking me if I want them to quote the job (as they are in competition with my guy) and until they do, they can’t sell me any samples – I’ve just about worn out my welcome there I think. Of course the build looks like starting the same week we get the puppy so it will be a full time job juggling everything but hopefully it will be worth it in the end.

Our mood board.

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I had a day off mid week to go and visit my friend Leigh in Kangaroo Valley. She is in the middle of creating a 2-3 bedroom cottage out of the old dairy on her property and she is trying to get it all done in time for her wedding which is being held there in less than 2 months. Needless to say her stress levels are pretty high right now! It is all looking rather gorgeous and I’m sure everyone will be in such awe of the beautiful views they are not going to notice any ‘unfinished business’ renovation wise! Everything is lovely and rustic and her son Sam’s paintings are dotted about everywhere lending a uniqueness to the property (it is available for holiday rental on Stayz – http://www.stayz.com.au/accommodation/nsw/south-coast/kangaroo-valley/144525 )

Beautiful Kangaroo Valley

Under the grape arbour

Sam’s paintings create a lovely eclectic feel to the house….

While I was in the village of KV (I popped into the bakery for a coffee and walnut cake to share for morning tea) I happened upon a lovely little shop with a very french air and found some beautiful toile cushions and a fabulous coffee table book which I am really enjoying reading called “A family in Paris – stories of food, life and adventure” which just about sums up all the things I love in life!! You really DON’T have to be in a big city to find beautiful and unusual things to buy!

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I finally got round to walking along the Shoalhaven River – there is a lovely walking track that follows it along for a kilometre or so and as it’s fairly flat I have it earmarked for a nice walk with the pup!

Further up the river is Bundanon – described here by Wikipedia- and it has the most glorious views over the river and surrounding area. Lots of weddings are held here and in the summer you can take a picnic and sit on the lawn and listen to a string quartet which sounds just gorgeous!! Now I just have to talk Cammo into it……

“Bundanon is a large home near Nowra, New South Wales, Australia. It was the home of the painter Arthur Boyd. Bundanon started as a single-storey weatherboard structure built circa 1840. In 1866, a two-storey sandstone house, made of locally quarried stone, was built immediately in front of the weatherboard house. The sandstone house features timber verandahs and is now listed on the Register of the National Estate.

Bundanon was donated to the people of Australia in 1993 by Arthur Boyd, who believed “you can’t own a landscape” and wanted to share the place that inspired him so much with everyone, along with the adjoining property which was owned by the Artist Sidney Nolan. Under the control of the Bundanon Trust it is open to the public every Sunday from 10:30am to 4:00pm. It also contains an educational centre and part of the property has been set up as a constantly evolving studio space for artists and writers. There are currently four studios with attached residences and a writers cottage which are offered meritoriously to a select group of talented individuals from all over the world. Pulpit Rock, a significant rocky outcrop visible from Bundanon, features in a number of Arthur Boyd’s paintings of the landscape.”