What's going on?

This is what's going on here at the moment.  How about you?

Apologies for the radio silence.  I've been Tumblr-ing a bit over here, and you can follow my ramblings on Twitter here.

First sourdough.

I've made things with yeast for years, but this week was my first foray into the world of sourdough.  Ta da!

My first loaves were misshapen and a bit overcooked, but the crust was crunchy, the middle was soft and chewy, and the flavour - yum!  

I'm definitely a convert.

(Photo by Jem, because I couldn't figure out how to change the settings on his fancypants camera)

Good Dog

Jeremy found this picture book today whilst rearranging our (many, many) books.  It's one I wrote and illustrated when I was in Prep, 22 years ago now.  (!!)  It's a cute keepsake from my childhood, and so I thought you might like to see it!

Good Dog.  by Elizabeth Clark

Once upon a time there was a good dog. name (sic)

She didn't chew the Mayor's pants or bark at 

Miss Barrett the teacher and she always ate 

up all her dinner and she never pulled at 

her leash.

One day she had puppies.

Her owners were very surprised.

When the puppies were older they got names.

One was called Barny, another was called Silky 

and her sister was called Milky.

At first they could not see.

Then when they were older they could see a little bit

Silky was as soft as silk

Milky was the colour of milk.

Barny liked to sleep in the barn.

The puppies liked to play together but

after awhile they got into fights.

So their mother had to get them apart

So they obeyed her and played nicely.

(with thanks to my handsome book-stand, Jeremy!)

2012

I have plans for 2012.

In 2012 I will pay off my bank loan!  This is special since once that's out of the way, I'll be able to start saving.  I have so many things I want to do, and to be financially free is the beginning.

In 2012, I'm travelling.  A seaside holiday in March, a trip to Kakadu in July.  It's been nearly 20 years since I was last in Darwin, and I'm excited to see how much I remember, and how much it's changed since I was 8.

In 2012, I will keep gardening.  In the three months since we've moved to a new house, we have done so much work on it, and it's only the beginning!  Right now we've only got lettuces, but soon the broccoli will be ready to harvest, and the tomatoes, and the beans, and pumpkins and zucchinis.  !!!

In 2012, I am going to see some music.  PJ Harvey this month at MONA FOMA, and Justin Townes Earle in Melbourne in April.  I hope there'll be more shows, and I hope I discover some new bands, too!

In 2012, I will spend time with my family and my friends.  My mama and her sister are visiting in couple of weeks, and I can't wait to see them.  I'll make time for coffee dates, and for long phone/Skype conversations with friends further afield.  I'll also take the time to remember and honour friends and family who are no longer here.

In 2012, I will cook and eat delicious food, in delicious company.

In 2012, I will keep driving and working towards getting my license.

In 2012, I will be kind and generous, thoughtful and considered, peaceful and joyful.


New Years Rulin's by Woody Guthrie, shared with me by my mother-in-law.

Things are happening here.  New house, new seasons, birthdays.  I feel restless and carefree, and I love how the warm breeze feels on my bare skin.

This is the view from my new bedroom window.  I can't see the water anymore but the sun setting over the hills is just as pretty.

Ma & Pa

This afternoon I was poking around on the internet and came across some photos of my parents that I'd never seen before.

They were taken before they married, when they were at university together.  It's always weird to think of my parents having lives before my brothers and I came along, so it was wonderful to catch a glimpse of their former selves.  My mother looks so cute with her perm, and I love the way she's looking back at the photographer.  The man next to my father with the fantastic handlebar moustache would be best man at my parents' wedding a couple of years later, and he and my parents are still close friends today.

I'm going to print these pictures and stick them up, I reckon!

Mt Field.

Today we went up to Mt Field National Park.  We had intended to drive to Lake Dobson and walk to the Tarn Shelf, but it was snowing heavily and the road was slushy and boggy.  Oliver was worried his little car wouldn't make it, so in the end we parked by the side of the road and walked.  

It was wonderful!  Though cold and snowy, we were rugged up, and tt was quiet and peaceful, with only the wind blowing through the treetops and the occasional car.  We didn't make it to Lake Dobson, but we have plans to go back soon with a 4WD - and a boogie board for sledding!

(Can you believe this is my first post in nearly 6 months?  I wonder if I have any readers left!)

Ouch.

Today I set out to make apricot jam and got five stitches and a tetanus shot instead.  Be careful with knives, everybody!

This photo accurately sums up my current mood.  I am lonely and my thumb hurts.  But my own woes pale in comparison to the other events of the day.  Thinking of you, Christchurch and Libya.

J.

It's no secret that I'm missing my sweetheart like crazy at the moment.  For those of you who've just tuned in, my boyfriend is currently in the middle of the Bass Strait, on a yacht that has spent the past two weeks sailing down the east coast from Sydney.

I hope to have him home safely by the weekend, but for now I've been amusing myself with the (very many) photos I have of him making stupid faces.  I hope you'll let me indulge my loneliness for a minute or two by sharing them with you?

And, lastly, a nice one, to prove to you (and reassure my parents that their grandchildren will not be terrifyingly ugly) that he really is as handsome as I say he is..

Anniversary.

We walked down the cliff to Anniversary Bay.

We went swimming.

We didn't wear swimsuits.

This was the most blissful part of my summer holidays - floating in the water on my back without a care in the world.  I need to do that more often!  This year I am going to make an effort to slow my life down a bit and try to find more of those carefree moments.

Christmas.

Christmas in the north-west with Jem's family.  

Bounty from Sally and Tony's garden.  They grow pretty much everything they eat, including chickens.  We took a big basket of produce home with us, including blackberries, peas, lemons, herbs, rhubarb, eggs, and one tiny zucchini. 

Jeremy and Sally in the kitchen, the centre of the house.

Me, by Jeremy, in the back yard.

Boxing Day at Boat Harbour, and the alpacas we saw on the way.

Christmas in Australia is in summer, but you'd never know it from these pictures.  Cradle Mountain, the day after Boxing Day.

Poor Allison was underdressed for the occasion.

You can just see the Cradle in the background, under all that cloud.

Some old shots.

Some pictures from a roll I've just had developed recently.  They're from my last trip to Melbourne, back in..?  Sometime last year, anyway.

Castaway.

My beloved Jeremy is absent at the moment, sailing down the mainland east coast.  He's been gone a week and has only made it as far from Sydney as Ulladulla - apparently the winds are blowing in the wrong direction - so he probably won't be home for a couple of weeks.  He is having a great time, and is enjoying not having to wash.

His beard has grown out of control, and he looks like a real castaway!  This is what it looked like 2 weeks ago when we were on holiday; I'm really looking forward to seeing how it looks in two or three weeks time!

If you're interested, you can follow his adventures here.

Catching up.

I've been so worked off my feet lately that it feels like I haven't had time to breathe.  I've just come off a 14-days-straight working week (which sometimes happens when you have two jobs) and now I'm on holidays for two weeks.

What's new with you?  How was your Christmas?  Mine was lovely - we went up to the north-west for a few days to spend time with Jem's family, and ate ourselves silly, and drank a fair bit of delicious home-made wine and walnut liqueur.  We went on a trip to Stanley, and got snowed on at Cradle Mountain.  Only in Tasmania.

Bella gave us a bit of a scare the day before Christmas Eve, when an undiscovered abscess on her tail burst and she started bleeding everywhere at 10pm.  We rushed her to the hospital, where there was a vet on call, and she stayed overnight and had surgery the next day.  We picked her up and took her up to Forth for Christmas.  Meeting your boyfriend's extended family for the first time is frightening, so I was glad she was there to take some of the attention away from me!  She's fine now, though her tail is shaved, and she looks a bit silly.  I'm so glad she's all right and that it wasn't more serious.  Since then we've not let her outside much, and she's not really enjoying being a house-cat, but better a grumpy cat than an injured one!

I haven't taken any photos since Christmas, and haven't had time to get those developed.  Once I get out of my pyjamas I'll drop those off and then I'll have something to share at last!  For now, here's some pictures from my mobile.

Our Christmas tree.

Bella hiding on top of the bookcase in the bathroom.

Jeremy cooking up a storm.  Beef and broccolini stir-fry, I think.

Braised beef cheek tacos in home-made tortillas with avocado, lime and home-made salsa.  These were amazing - I need to make them again soon!

First harvest from our garden - basil, and one lone strawberry.  It was delicious.

Dear self, re: 2011.

Dear Liz,

Happy new year! I just wanted to write you a little note and give you some encouragement - I know you've been feeling a bit down lately. Here goes!

You're doing so well.  You’re healthy in body and mind for the first time in years.  You have a job that you love (and do you know how rare that is?), and you might not be rich but you have everything you need.  You have an awesome (if tiny) house with a fantastic view in the city that you love.  

You have a beautiful, fluffy, grumpy cat.  You're so proud of your family and they are so proud of you. You have wonderful, clever, creative friends you can call on at any time of the day or night if you need them.

You have a handsome partner who shares your values and wants the same things from life as you do.  Sure, he can be a pain in the bum at times but you’re madly in love with him anyway.  And guess what, Liz?  He’s madly in love with you, too.  How about that?

Don’t worry about the past - you can’t change that.  Don’t worry about the future - there’s not much you can do about that, either.  Keep working at being content with where you are, what you have, right now, and don’t stress about the rest.  I know it’s hard, but you can do it!

And don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself stressing about your debts or your lack of a university degree or that damn biological clock that won’t shut up.  You’ll be fine.  Just take some deep breaths, have a cup of tea, and let it out and let it go.

You are awesome. You can do it!

Happy 2011!

Love, Liz.

My Year In Yes.

So, I am very excited to show you what is essentially my first published work!

This year I was able to participate in Sarah Von of Yes And Yes' 2011 Year In Yes calendar - and, well, here it is!

It's only available online and you can get it for US $18.50, which includes postage to anywhere in the world.

It's VERY exciting.  It will be June all-year-round in my house next year!