The other week at the farm I took the 135mm, sigh that is one lens I sure do love.

My exam is on Friday, this is what my desk looks like at the moment.

Do you spy that plaque near my tea cup? This is a scan of it. It’s a Figgjo (my favourite Norwegian company) Utfart wall plaque. The discolouration in the glazing is most likely from where it has been hung with a wire which has leached into the glaze. If I ever hang this baby it will be with good strong string or similar.

And that is the end of this short post of pictures

This Kookaburra was part of a family of three which were quite happy for me to photograph them.

I had a great time trying to find the perfect clover flower, the above are a few that were close.

Grandad’s orange trees are full of oranges in various stage of development.

The nasturtiums really show the beauty that the 135mm catches.

Little trumpets of orange.

Take a seat on one of the smoko benches and watch the sun setting over the strawberry fields across the road.

Strawberries, sweet, sweet strawberries.

The past few weeks I’ve been eating a lot of stawberries… I’ve certainly been getting my daily dose of flavonoids … on my breakfast, with my lunch …

I miss Iceland (probably the family/people more than the actual physical place, though I miss that too) terribly but oh when I walked into my own bedroom at 2am last Thursday morning, I felt things for my room that I don’t think I’ve felt before. If I could have hugged my room I probably would have, instead I opened the door and just sighed. My bed, my stuff, my own tea collection, my everythings. I picked up a few things in my travels to add to my room and in the below picture is one. I could have spent a lot more money and time in the Cath Kidston shop… My new cup for when I want a biggish cup of tea (I might have 4 cups that I drink tea out of at home depending on the type of tea, the mood I’m in etc).

Not just my house but also the farm, collecting macadamias, playing with my camera in the afternoon sun.

This past week was also my first week back at Uni for the first time in a good 3.5 years. It’s good to be giving the brain some more stimulus. It’s going to take a while to get used to class from 1800-2100 on Tuesday and Thursday nights but I’ll get there. A bonus to the late finish is that I get an off-peak train fare home and since I’m at uni on Thursday nights I can’t be tempted by late night shopping. It does mean that I miss ballet this term though which is a bummer.

Now a picture or two from Iceland

mmm Irises. There were so many in the botanical gardens.

Bro, where’s my fish?

As history would predict, here are the last two weeks of photos.

Sunlight on Sandstone, 227/365.

I have had one hell of a week this week. A week that has me questioning my morals in ignoring immoral behaviour of others. A week of trying to decide when to rock the boat and when to keep my mouth shut. One of those weeks that really drains everything out of you. After work yesterday I headed down to the mall to unwind in the library, enjoy the music on the mall and just wander around.

The view from my chair in the library.

Swing, Swing, Slide, 226/365.

The playground in our park.

Chocolate from Melbourne, 225/365.

It is a bit of a tradition at work that if anyone goes to Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide they will bring back some Haigh’s.

The long view, 224/365.

One of the many things I adore about this is house is the central hallway. Standing at the back door you look straight out the front door and vice-versa.

That time of the fortnight, time to restock the pantry drawer and fridge.

BBall, 223/365.

I don’t play Basket Ball and don’t think I have ever managed to land a ball through the hoop but with a Basket Ball stadium round the corner, it plays a part in my life.

Sex on Wheels, 222/365.

One of the cars that my Uncle owns, a car that whilst supposedly crap to drive, I would quite happily own it. Oh to drive it round the streets of this town!

Old Curtains, 221/365.

Why are these old curtains? Because soon I will have new curtains up. They are just about finished and then my room will look quite lovely.

I ♥ this skirt! 220/365.

Is this not one of the most adorable skirts you have seen?
I’ve looked at this skirt a few times in Alannah Hill but never tried it on (you can also get it with black ribbon instead of red). Last Friday I had time to spare waiting for Georgie and I just couldn’t resist trying it on. I adored it! Not about to shell out nearly $300 for a skirt though… Here is to hoping that it appears on the sales rack….

Dan Sultan, 219/365.

Went to see Dan Sultan with a mate from work and his partner. We had a ball. Man oh Man that man can move his lower body!

Here I rest, rest one one leg, 218/365.

Mr or Ms Ibis chilling outside work.

The view from a window, 217/365.

I was watching the light on the house next door and then looked at my louvres and thought mmmm improvised tripod. Photo taken with camera sitting on open louvres.

Even Wars Have Laws, 212/365.

This was quite a sight to see outside work on Monday morning. Like everyone else I work with our first thought upon seeing the children with guns was it was a protest against us, however it was actually part of a Red Cross campaign (link 1, link 2). It was quite effective, it bucketed that afternoon though so all the cardboard would have turned to mush.

Collection, 211/365.

I love the sewing room at the farm, shelves filled with wood turned by Grandad and crafty bits from Grandmum.

and what better way to close this off than with a video?

Lawrence Pryce Stephenson, born 29 Jan 1920.

Grandad is Grandad and for all that he is, I quite treasure the time I spend with him. We typically go to The Farm, once a week to visit and have dinner etc.

This was the cake.
The week before when we were up, Mum asked Grandad what sort of cake he wanted, his answer was a plain fruit cake with no icing and that is what we had. I of course couldn’t let it go undecorated though! We used to play with this fishing rod and fishes when we were younger and spending time at The Farm. Grandad is a fisherman, not so much at all in recent years unfortunately as it is hard for him to keep steady on his feet in a boat.

Just like we have done in the past for other milestone birthdays, Mum had taped together 90 party poppers in bunches of fives. With a slight breeze in the air, they looked fantastic when they popped.

Grandad with streamers all over him.

Pabbi

Max and Ian

Jim – Such a Stephenson face!

Of course, whilst historically hailing from the Northern Rivers district we are a Bundy Ginger Beer family.

I can tell you all since Grandad does not read this blog. Today he is having a surprise party in the shed with all the workers. The workers all call him Poppy, which is just so different from Grandad. There will be a big BBQ lunch and who knows what else.

Happy Birthday Grandad.

And the Christmas Tree. The tree was actually in the living room but I carried out to the turf to take photos…. I love this tree. I found it on Ebay for $9.95, I carefully waited till the last minute to place my bid, hoping no one else wanted it as much as I did. No one else did and it was mine for the starting price. Let me tell you right now, I was prepared to pay a lot more than $9.95! A quick drive to Ipswich and it was in the boot of the car. It is made in Italy, I guess in the late 50′s to early 60′s. It is a little over 6ft tall and is a combination of white, silver and clear tinsel. I’ll have to take a close up photo today when we go to the farm as it actually have leaf shaped tinsel mixed in as well! There are a few of the little white pine cone branch tips missing but oh when the light catches on the tree doesn’t it looks amazing!

The wind of course picked up when we went to take photos, (hence why we are holding the tree) and the sun wouldn’t stay out for long hence why there is sun in Mum’s photo but not in mine.

160/365

It was just a few little knick knacks under the tree, I got a candy thermometer, Matthew got various fiddle toys, the kitchen got an oven mit etc.

It was roast veal and veggies for lunch which Matthew was cooking. Whilst we waited, Grandad put his legs up (of course) and Mum and I went down to the Black Flat to explore and take photos.

Then it was time for lunch (lunch round 3pm of course). Bon-Bons with silly jokes and trinkets inside, roast meat and veg, gravy in the Christmas gravy boat and of course dessert. Plum pudding, trifle, flummery, jelly, custard etc etc!

Then you guessed it, time to wash up again!

That was Christmas at the Farm 09. Who knows what next year will bring.

Crazy Duck in the Roma St Parklands, 29/365
This morning it was Brown Owls and whilst in the park waiting for the others to arrive I was visited by this bird.

Seam Sealing the tent, T-20hrs before departing for Mongolia, 28/365
This morning Mum and her two sisters along with three or four others headed off to Mongolia for the next three and a bit weeks.

Waiting for the future to come, 27/365
Sitting on a bench in Adelaide St, waiting before I went into see the prosthodontist.

Not our pick-up, 26/365
Thursday night, Mum and I went to pick Susan up from the airport. These two drivers waited and waited and waited for their pick-ups to come out of the gate.

All done at last! 25/365
Ekka Wednesday. Oh so lovely to have a mid-week public holiday. I spent the morning cracking pecans, I finally finished my allotment of pecans from Granddad.

Oh Yeah Transformable Tomas, 24/365
A few weeks ago Karl, sent me a link to this picture. I couldn’t get over how cool it looked. A look at ebay a few days later, a little $$ later and I now have my own Transformable Tomas.

Catherdal Square flowers, 23/365
This is by no means the best photo but every time I walk past this flower bed, I wonder if anyone stops and picks a few flowers? The flower bed is at chest height and it looks so tempting.

Squished, Dry Cane Toad, 22/365
We were going to pick up the avocados and passion fruit and I noticed this squished dried out cane toad and just had to a little photo

Oh little bird in the yard, 21/365
I don’t mind the birds when they stay in the yard, like this one here. When they cross the border of the deck and try to come into the house though, that I don’t like.

Today, I woke up at 6ish but dozed in bed till 8ish, so luxurious! I popped into work for a while to pick some stuff up/drop some stuff off and say hello to the reservists I don’t normally get to see during the week. I also visited the RSPCA opshop at New Farm and picked up a Le Parfait jar and some crochet doilies for the grand total of $3. Then it off to Flannerys to stock up on rolled oats. Then Ikea called.

I have had a clothes rail for my wardrobe for the last 7 mths or so which I have kept covered with a dark doona cover to keep my clothes dust free and stop fading. I said enough is enough today. I had been umming and ahhing between a few different ones the last few nights on the net. Looking at them today I decided on the Aneboda. I also picked myself up a bookcase, a Billy of course. Looking at them now in my room, I love how they melt into the white walls. I also bought my first Ikea fabric, this nice orange one, which I am going to use to make curtains for my book case. Tomorrow I will have to take some photos. I still have bits and pieces to put away but it looks a lot more roomier now. Also tomorrow I have an SES fund raiser to attend, washing to do and family to visit!

Two photos to share.
I took this photo back in April one rainy afternoon at The Farm. I love how the rain drops.

And sharing my Food Connect box from last week, I had fun this time arranging the fruit and vege for the photo.

On a sad note, I finished watching The West Wing the other night. It has taken me about 6 or so weeks to watch all 7 seasons and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I have laughed my head off at times, wept at times, shaken my head at others and at others just absorbed the drama, the wit, the speeches. And this quote from In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part II

Margaret: Can I – can I just say something for the future?
Leo: Yeah.
Margaret: I can sign the President’s name. I have his signature down pretty good.
Leo: You can sign the President’s name?
Margaret: Yeah.
Leo: On a document removing him from power and handing it to someone else?
Margaret: Yeah. Or… do you think the White House Counsel would say that was a bad idea?
Leo: I think the White House Counsel would say it was a coup d’état!
Margaret: Well. I’d probably end up doing some time for that.
Leo: I would think. And what the hell were you doing practising the President’s signature?
Margaret: It was just for fun.
Leo: We’ve got separation of powers, checks and balances, and Margaret, vetoing things and sending them back to the Hill.

Whilst I was collecting the pecans though I got a little side tracked though taking photos. These are the photos I took.

This is the Fried Egg tree otherwise known as Gordonia. It is named as such because when the flowers fall to the ground they look like eggs sunny side up.

Aren’t they so pretty?

Then these balloons caught my eye. They are from Christmas Day, when the trees were full of streamers and balloons. This trio had long lost their air but had stayed hanging on a branch, fused together in the sun, swinging in the wind. Then I pulled the branch down.

Between the two pecan trees is an African Tulip tree, it is also flowering at the moment.

This is my hand and the sky. My fingers look quite slim and long for some reason in this photo.

I know Mum will hate this photo when she sees it when she returns from Africa. I was laying on the grass looking at the world upside down and out of focus and took this photo. I strangely like it.

One plant that I closely link to The Farm is crucifix orchids. A large mass of them grows on a tree stump outside the kitchen window.

This is Matthew, yes that is true, a photo of Matthew. He was on the lawn finding the strongest wireless signal. He didn’t know I took this picture. He is in his final year of uni this year and had dived into this honours year.

This little frog gave me a scare as I was putting stuff into the car, he jumped from the tree, over the top of me and onto the bonnet. He was such a little darling of a frog.

This photo is from the week before but I will share it today. The passion fruit vine at the farm, is not just on some joe average trellis or fence, but it runs wild over the avocado trees, a gum tree and some other trees in the same patch of land. These passion fruit grow high in the canopy, metres off the ground. When they are ripe or a wind has gone through, they fall to the ground below, finding little homes in the leaf litter till they are collected.

Matthew and the girls came in my car for the trip to The Farm and oh what at trip that was. Seven odd weeks later, I still think of that trip with a smile on my face.

As has always been done, you take a selection of your Christmas presents to The Farm. Matthew took his gas mask and the girls took their SuperSoakers. The journey was spent with the gas mask rotating between the three of them and scaring/getting a laugh out of other cars as we drove past. It was classic.

The Christmas Table.
Even before I started suggesting “Christmas at The Farm 08″ I had wanted to have a meal on a long table with a white table cloth out on the turf or under the pecan nut trees. This Christmas I had that long table with white tablecloths.

Another thing I had been thinking about for a long time was having my glass hurricane vase, filled with glass baubles filled with beads. Christmas Day, saw the girls and I sitting on the floor of the garage filling the baubles and trying not to spill too many beads on the floor! Once they were filled though they looked gorgeous!

One of my other ideas was a large stack of pinecones on Mum’s 21st platter. Al and Ash collected the pine cones for me a couple of days before Christmas but come Christmas Day, I left the platter at Mum’s. Instead the girls had fun wrapping the pinecones with ribbons etc

After morning tea, it was time for the Christmas Tree. There were a few silly gifts given between families as well as the regular gifts intra-family. One of those silly gifts was from Karl and I. When we were in K-Mart getting presents for the girls we saw these foam swords and went “sweet” We bought the four that Chermside had in stock and then when I went to Toowong, I emptied their shelves and got another eight – one for all the grandkids and two extras in case of damages or if partners/wives/the girls wanted swords as well. The foam swords ruled the day.

Once the sword fights waned. It was time for French Cricket. For Christmas, Matthew and I gave the girls a Kanga Cricket bat and ball as they had loved playing French Cricket with us. We only gave them the ball on Christmas Eve and had planned on putting the bat with their stockings for Christmas morning, however I forgot to put the bat out so I wrapped it and took it to The Farm. But! I left the ball at home, so we used a tennis ball. We used to play a LOT of French Cricket at The Farm when we were younger. I don’t remember Grandad playing it when we were younger but Grandmum always did.

French Cricket with eighteen odd players is one hell of a game. When one of the boys got in, they would field out so they could slog it and then get in nice and close when it was one of the girls. It was all fine till James slugged the ball into the sweet potatoes… We only had one ball. That was a good sign though that it was time to start getting lunch organised.

The table was re-set, the BBQ was lit and the snags were been turned and then it started to rain. Luckily, it comes in pretty handy to have a large shed round the corner and with plenty of people it is easy to just move the entire set-up.

Aunty Susan and her girls (and Ian) had made the bon-bons for Christmas Lunch. Inside each of them was a gorgeous beaded Christmas ornament, a scratchie and the other usual goodies

After lunch we had a Turf Tour with Max

The girls were total posers and had a great time posing for photos of each other sword fighting on the turf.

When the Turf Tour was over, we retired to the front lawn to prepare ourselves for dessert. For some this meant more sword fighting

comparing hair length

or just having their photo taken

Dessert was a treasure trove of yummy food.
Trifle from Erica! Plum Pudding from me! Pavlova from Lisa! mmm so much dessert.

With our stomachs filled with sweet treats, a realisation came upon that the light was not going to last much longer and we had not yet taken the family photos!

All the family minus James who had gone visting

We know how to fight

With the fall of darkness, Iceland, Mum and Pabbi returned to Brisbane. The Howie kids, Karl, Matthew and I moved onto The Block where the Williams were staying to chill out in the pool. We had a lot of fun making whirlpools (walking in single file round the edge of the pool as fast as you can) and hypothesising why it is that some people get more pruney than others in the water.

Christmas Day was the highlight of what was an incredible Christmas season and I am looking forward to the next big family Christmas when or wherever that might be.

You can see Mum’s photos from the day here – Mum’s Christmas Photos and the rest of my photos here – My Christmas Day photos

One downside of new house is that I am now in high possum area and said possums are eating my lettuce (not that I can eat lettuce now anyway but I have been giving Mum and Matthew picked leaves once a week). I have moved the pot so it is now beside the kitchen stairs where there is more light at night so I will see how that goes.

When I was cleaning my windows today the resident Scrub Turkey came for a visit as well (yes my street has a resident Scrub Turkey, I tend to see him/her at least once a day). So cool.

My room has picture rails so when Mum and I went to Bunnings yesterday I picked up some picture hooks and wire. I was so excited then when I got home and tried them they didn’t fit! I was devastated. I was sooo looking forward to using the picture rails. At the moment I have some of my foam core mounted photos and LPs propped up on the picture rails and my framed pieces wrapped up beneath my bed.

Once I had cleaned and cleaned some more it was off to Mum’s and then off to The Farm. We have crumbed fish and veg every time we go to The Farm for dinner but tonight the fish tasted even better than it normally does. We also spent time counting the linen to make sure Grandad has enough to house the NZ contingent as well as other general planning. Man oh man I can’t wait for December! Only nine sleeps to go till the first of the outer towners arrives!

sigh. We have had one hell of a storm this evening though. We left Brisbane round 1545 ish and as we drove the view out the rear just got progressively darker. A while after we got to The Farm, it started blowing a gale and then it got darker again and the rain started. It rained, and it rained and it rained.

As we drove home there were branches down all over the place and traffic lights and street lights out all over the place as well. I thought about giving them a ring to see if it was too late to come down and join a crew but then I thought that I am fairly exhausted from a big weekend moving and I have 38 Navy kids enlisting at 0700 or 0730 in the morning, I need sleep!

I am now sitting in my room at Auchenflower and the rain stopped probably 10 minutes ago. The only sound now is the trains as they zip past and the various bug noises.

Oh well I have SES tomorrow night and I am sure I will hear all about what I missed out on (clearing gutters I bet)

Have you ever bitten into a strawberry and feel your entire mouth start to smile? A smile that starts as your lips feel that first drop of strawberry juice and extends upwards and upwards as your teeth close together after the last bite.

That is what these strawberries pictured taste like. Strawberries that you are eating mere hours after they have been picked. Strawberries that you have seen grow and grow since they were first planted a few months ago. Strawberries that are sweet but with a slight tang and the texture is just right.

This is what strawberries should always taste like.

Picking the little red balls. Some weekends we do this in near dark other weekends like yesterday we did it in the winter sun. When I took these photos we had not picked the tomatoes for three weeks we had a bounty on our hands.

We pick the reddest, ripest tomatoes we can find, knowing that they will pack a whole lot more punch when they are dried.

After filling our buckets and trying to avoid the cobblers pegs and pea weed, it is time to clean them. The sink is filled with water and the tomatoes are poured in, washing off the dirt.

We stand there, on either side of the sink, methodically picking up a tomato, plucking off the stalk and putting the tomatoes on a rack to dry.

After they have tried it is on to the fun stuff. Cutting each and every tomato in half and placing it on the rack to go in the food dryer.

Then they dry and dry and dry some more till we have little red discs, typically a bit smaller than a 5c piece. Then we feast on them in salads, pasta, dips, cous cous, sandwiches etc or take photos of them in a vase on the balcony….

An overflowing container of cherry tomatoes, a visit with the most treasured man in my life, getting covered in Cobblers Pegs as I lift up the vines gently plucking each little red ball off the stalk, dicing a handful through tuna mornay for dinner. A family table; laughs, love and the hope of tomorrow. Just another afternoon at The Farm. That was how I spent my May Day afternoon.