The past week.

The past week has involved food to quite an extent. It's been quite a busy week and it doesn't seem like it was only a week ago we were lunching with our daughters at Kades Restaurant. It was Bob's birthday and we had a lovely meal and chat with the girls.

Then later in the week I was cooking for Friday Light, the local Anglican church's outreach. 

But before that I managed to get the cake baked for the GF dessert I was making for Saturday night's dinner. Once the F.L meal was cooked and down at the church I started assembling the dessert. I thought it would be nicer if it could sit in the fridge overnight but I left the cream until just before we left home. I hadn't made one, a banoffee trifle, for quite a while and wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it was good. And none leftover on the night.

The hall looked really nice with decorated tables and fairy lights strung up. And a little Christmas tree by the door. The food was plentiful and delicious. It was a lovely dinner and a great crowd, over 70 people arrived, but there was enough food to feed an army :) The place was buzzing.

We'd had a red weather alert not long before we left and the rain started as we were leaving home for the dinner and it stopped about 2 hours ago. So it poured for about 42 hours. We weren't affected apart from a little surface flooding but others weren't so lucky. There were evacuations overnight as properties flooded and to make matters worse a valve failed at the waste treatment station and sewage leaked out into the floodwaters. And needless to say the Silverstream is in flood but hasn't breached the flood banks. Once upon a time I would have walked down to take a photo but you'll have to take my word for it this time :) Florida, you could have some of our rain if you wish.

Our storage box is floating and I'm not sure the lid is fully closed but I'll check that when the weather improves. Too late now anyway :)

*****

And just because I can, daughter Jacqui's cat, Sooty, letting the world know what he thinks:)

 

That's all from me today.

Stay safe and well.

blessings,

Diana

A social week.

We've been in Mackay just over a week and it has been quite a social time. We've caught up with relatives and friends over morning and afternoon teas, a birthday dinner, a meal out one evening and tonight we have a barbecue to go to. We went out to see if we could spot some whales one day but they weren't really  cooperating. Saw some big splashes from the tails but they weren't breaching. Well not while I had the binoculars anyway :)

I'll just post some pictures with a short description if they need it.

I was trying to get a pic of the plovers, there were five in all, but they weren't having any of it either. Sisters  front lawn.

Sis with her son and daughter in law.

Trying to spot whales. Both my sisters and Bob just out of the shot.

The shipping harbour...

...and the marina in Mackay. There's a lot of money tied up here.

Sisters sharing a laugh, that's me on the right.

Another morning out, I liked the way they presented the sandwiches.

Morning tea at a friend's house. We knew them in New Zealand and he is a rally car driver. 

He took both Bob and I for a spin in one of his cars, very exhilarating. And noisy :)

A short clip of our ride.

And last night we had another couple of family members arrive for a few days. So it will be nice getting to know them. They're from further south and we'd never met them until now.

And until next time,

enjoy your week,

blessings

Diana

Eating out and other stuff

 It's a beautiful blue sky day today and so we decided to go out for lunch at a tavern a couple of suburbs nearer the city. The place we used to go to has burned down and they're not rebuilding so we need to find another 'favourite' eatery. We enjoyed being out in the sun even if it was still a bit cold. When we arrived the carpark was full, we parked outside the takeaway shop and I hoped the owner wouldn't object.

 The tavern was crowded but we managed to get a table for two. There were renovations/extensions happening next to where we were sitting but all closed off so no danger to the customers. And nothing going on today. 

We had a delicious meal but unfortunately it was very noisy, the restaurant and the bar were both full, and we couldn't hear ourselves speak. But it rounded off nicely a week of grey, cold, miserable weather. 

We didn't bother to stop for a hot drink after but left pretty much once we'd finished our meal and headed over to youngest daughter's place to have one. And to check out how they were going with setting up their new home. They have just bought their own home and are still settling in.

Sassy and Purr exploring their new back yard.

 

Theo had been visiting for the night and was waiting for Mum to pick him up so not a lot was getting done but next weekend is a holiday weekend so they're hoping to get everything finished up then.

And feijoas! There are still a lot on the tree, and yes I am over them, but they are not as prolific as they were which is a blessing. I'm managing to keep up with them :) I found a recipe for a feijoa loaf so I've made that a couple of times as I don't have any more room to freeze any. It's a nice change and will only be seasonal so that's good. I've also used the leaf rake and deposited the smaller ones in the green bin!

I think I'll finish on that note.

Keep well, keep warm 

and I'll catch up again in a few days.

Diana

Bookended

We had another wonderful day yesterday. It started with my GKB bringing me a fat envelope he had found in the letterbox. It was a lovely wee notepad and a Christmas card with a thankyou note from Friday Light, the outreach I cook for every now and then 

In the afternoon I went over to grand daughter's house. She's going away for a few days and we've volunteered to feed the cats. We had a nice chat over a cold drink and she showed me where everything is, and yes, I remembered to come away with a key to the house.

And finally our Christmas Eve dinner was going to happen, nine days late, but who's counting. I spent quite a bit of time in the morning preparing the fruit salad for dessert, mostly fresh fruit, yum.

Finally it was time to head over to Aaron's place for our meal where we sat out on the deck in the late afternoon sun and waited for the hostess to appear. She'd gone to visit a neighbour and lost track of the time. But it didn't matter, we enjoyed each other's company over nibbles and a drink. She was a bit embarrassed when she finally arrived back but we just had a good laugh.

Aaron had spent the day preparing a roast meal, lamb from a friend's farm accompanied by new potatoes, roast pumpkin, carrots and parsnip with gravy. It was delicious and I ate far too much. DIL then brought out a fresh cheese board and crackers while we were sitting letting our meal settle. You don't need this, I thought, but that didn't stop me from indulging. I should have known better, I knew there was still dessert to come.

After dessert, which I also ate too much of, we blobbed inside in front of the telly and did some karaoke. It was a lot of fun. Some of us performed beautifully, some of us just looked on and enjoyed - and laughed.

And as we were leaving we were given another Christmas gift. A gift box of barbecue sauces, rubs and nibbles. Another lovely surprise. You could say the day was bookended with gifts. 😄

When we arrived home I said to my GKB that really I should go for a run around the block after all that food but of course I was only kidding. I had a cup of tea and went to bed instead.

I did go for a walk this afternoon though, albeit a short one.

Keep well and keep enjoying the holiday season.

Diana

On 'The Coast' for Easter

Meet and greet.

At the cemetery.

Shantytown.

The main meal.

Heading up the coast road.

What do these photos have in common? 

They were all taken at our recent family reunion.

joining in the fun at

Five on Friday

Diana