The Potager Castlemaine

... meiste über das Farmleben gelernt. Die Schafe kosten zwar während des Jahres nicht viel Arbeit und Energie, jedoch wenn es dann zur Saison, d.h. zum Schafe scheren oder zu den Lämmchen kommt, gehört doch jede Menge Kraft, Ausdauer und Planung dazu. Letzte Woche haben wir nun die Schafmamas von ihren Lämmchen getrennt. Das war wirklich fast herzzerreissend. Wir haben alle Schafe zusammen getrieben und dann die beiden voneinander getrennt. Sobald wir alle Lämmchen hatten ...

... Marlene and Laura). Everyone has been a lot of fun this past week and as usual I enjoy learning tons about british culture. The way these people go through tea and baked beans (yes baked beans!) you'd swear they needed it to live. We make fun of the way the other pronounces something, like tomato or zebra. We fight about whether it's a fairy cake or a cupcake. Is it the rubbish bin or the trash can? Toilet or bathroom? Candy or Sweets? A cookie or a biscuit? Whether is normal ...

G'day all (sorry to the Australian friends but it had to be done!). So, I've arrived safely in Oz and am in a little bit of a limbo land! Not the country of course, just in my mind! And it's cold! Jumper cold which is weird. Nice, but weird! I seem to be colder than everyone else and I knew I was coming into winter but while my brain was prepared, my body was not! My thoughts are all over the place so excuse me if this entry is a little jumbled but you ...

Well, I'm actually in Sydney now, but this is about leaving Melbourne. I am not usually a teary girl, but the man sitting next to me on the plane this morning wouldn't have realized that. I was a bit gutted to leave (in Oz, they seem not to like to show too much excitement about things other than sport, so if one uses a word implying overt emotion, like "gutted", one must make it just "a bit"), but it's good to end on a high, and that ...

Way back in the winter, Julie and I had gone to the Dandenongs, but we gave into the weather and spent the afternoon on Puffing Billy instead of hiking. Leaving the 1000 steps still on my to-do list. So Donnie and I set out there on a much warmer day. The sun was out, the steps were open for business, and... we were shamed by the joggers running past us as we (ok, mostly I) huffed and puffed and used the commemorative plaques as ...

We spent two nights with my friend Rebecca and her boys, Sebastain and Zac (I was their nanny last time I was in Australia). The boys were on a quest to show David his first kangeroo...we went on a walk through the bush with Rebecca's parents in search of one...to no avail. David's disappointment was assuaged by the roast pork Rebecca's Dad cooked for tea! It was great catching up with them all.

... a new suit. It all came together last week... Spent one massively frustrating day shopping on Bridge Road, where everything was the same style, and one that didn't fit me. The icky, sheeny polyester suits were expensive, so you can imagine what anything decent cost. I put a suit on hold that I didn't even really like. I howled. Well, nearly. My dad texted me that I was still a lovely person, and I almost welled up. Next day, I psyched myself up for more, prepared myself to spend ...

... Went to my house appointment (it's a possibility), and then Nicole cooked up vegan chilli for us, yum. Love homemade meals. Today I just got back from my first recruiter interview in a while. Had to go in jeans and runners, but I did warn them in advance. Still hopeful for a job, but this afternoon I'm off suit shopping. If I had to choose between clothes shopping (on a budget) and toilet cleaning, it would be a tough decision. But, as always, we'll see how it goes...

... which by this time was heaving with after work drinkers. Then all of a sudden I heard someone say "Rich" - it was Tim from the board, who'd recognised me as I'd said what I'd be wearing. I ended up spending the whole night with him, and he even helped me sell my spare ticket for $40 which enabled me to buy a T-shirt! Tim had lived in Melbourne for 5 years, although he's from England originally. He also had a spare ticket as his heavily pregnant wife decided against coming to ...

Had the first lot of our visitors this month. Anne, Donald, Ross and Scott were with us for an action packed week so thought I'd show you some pictures of what we did with them. Their first day was a monster drive along the Great Ocean Road. We were in the car for about 9 hours all in and we didn't even see the whales that I had ...