short holiday

it seems like forever ago now, but at the beginning of February borris otto and i went on a short holiday. 

we drove south to goolwa and hired a converted paddle steamer for our accommodation. it was perfect. set back from the road and not near any neighbours. 

Otto and kombi parked near the paddle steamer. 

it was on air bnb. it is an old boat that is not on stilts in the water. so you get the feeling you are on the water without the movement of the boat.  

and you get the boat vibe with upper and lower decks and steep stairways.

borris looking out from the lounge room

 

view of the lounge area inside

pretty well set up kitchen

with a deck all the way around the boat

we had some visitors

but it was very relaxing

and the birds kept their distance.

otto really liked being on board with us

the view of the neighbourhood.

we also went to the beach near by, it was so nice and quiet (school holidays had just ended)

we had the place to ourselves

and just enjoyed being outside near the water

it was too cold to swim but we still had fun 

only wish we had more time and money so our holiday could have lasted a little while longer

but it was nice to get out of the city and see some new horizons for a change.

walk with otto

yesterday otto and i went for our daily walk. we decided to go to the park and river near our place, and walk into the city center. this is one of my favorite walks, as it is close by, near town, but surrounded by nature. if i am having a bad day a walk in the parklands always makes me feel better.

and when walking with this cute little friend his little prancing steps always make me smile.

 

i love how he stops to see if i am still following him.

 

i brought my camera with a goal of looking up at the trees.

 

there are many beautiful gum trees along the river

 

there was no shortage of amazing tree forms.

 

i am looking for just the right image to try to use for a new artwork.

 

without even looking up some of the bark patterns are pretty beautiful

not bad for some quick snap shots to find a good model tree

again the bark patterns are amazing

 

half way through the walk otto got tired and hot

 

he decided to have a roll in the shady grass

 

he paddles along the grass

 

and rolls all around

 

happy tired hot dog

 

the view from where we had our rest in the grass.

 

the look i got when i said time for more walking

 

a few more up images on the walk home

 

it was almost mid day, 11 am or so, getting a bit warm out

 

but a lovely way to start the day, otto and me.

pyrex mixing bowls

while driving back from camping this weekend (more on that soon) we stopped into an op shop (second hand shop) and i found this set of nesting pyrex bowls

they are in perfect condition, and part of the reason i like them is that they remind me of the set my mom has and of me and her cooking in the kitchen

 

and becuase i dont have a good set of mixing bowls.

 these are a different colour than the ones mom had, but the wheat pattern on the side is the same

W, 1, one

a friend if mine had a baby boy last year on Australia day Jan 26. so this year was his first birthday, and i decided to make him some customised onesies.

i bought a set of three blue onesies outfits, and then went through my fabric stash to find the right patterns. then i bought some double sided iron on adhesive paper. 

 

i printed my artwork out to scale, in this case a number 1 that has a candle flame on it, the letter W and the word one.

 

then i copied the imagery onto the transfer paper with pencil, making sure they were in reverse, so they would be the right way around at the end.

 

once i ironed a square patch of the zigzag fabric to the drawn on iron on paper, i then cut out the patter, in this case the letter W.

 

this is the back,

 

i ironed it on right side around in position

 

then using some embroidery thread i slip stitched around the edges to make sure the graphic stays in place.  this is the candle number 1.

and this is the finished collection of three, the hand stitching took the longest but i did it while watching some TV so it wasn't that bad.

holiday highlights

i know the holidays are over but here are a few highlights i wanted to share.

believe it or not i have never before made a whole chook. that is until the week after christmas. i was in the markets and i found this lovely looking chicken from these guys. they started raising lamb but have recently begun raising chooks too.

anyways i splurged and bought myself this chook.

i roasted it with potatoes and rosemary and garlic and lemon

and i even made a gravy!

it was really yummy, and i feel more like a grown up now. i will definitely do that again when i can afford a lovely chook again!

other holiday highlights include borris wearing a new apron from my friend andi, and doing the hoovering as he calls it.

very nice job!

i also had the excuse to make a salted pecan caramel tart. this recipe has been on my to do list for over a year. rosies parents are partial to sweet treats with tea, so i invited myself over with a tart for us to try.

it was a success! and really yummy. i think next time i will try with macadamia nuts! here is the recipe. 

and that is Rosie's dad documenting my tart before we sit down to a nice cup of tea!

and that was rest of the highlights from the holidays last year.