Herman the German Friendship Bread

Abut 11 days ago, a friend gave me one of those yeasty globs that we've all seen.  This guy was called "Herman".

The boys and I have been stirring him and feeding him and otherwise caring for his few needs.

Today it was time to cook him up.  Okay, it was actually time a couple of days ago, but whatever.

The boys and I got to work putting the few required ingredients together. 

 I had scored a few of these big cans of pineapples for $0.30 each last week, so we randomly opted to make Herman in to a pineapple upside-down cake.

 I know that pineapple is very acidic and can change the way the chemicals react in cooking.  I contemplated exploeing this, but my mom was asleep so I couldn't call her to ask and I couldn't be bothered to Google it, so we boiled it up with some brown sugar and figured that we didn't have a whole lot to lose.

 Old school hand mixing...

 Hand mixing selfie:

 Herman!!

 He passed the boy's approval.  Since it was Sunday we opted to have a piece both before and after dinner.

The pineapples made it even yummier.

Saturday excursions in Mudgee

Dave here.

This weekend we opted to stay 'in town' and take in some of the local activities that were on the go. In the morning, we checked out the open day at the local fire hall. For a little trip down memory lane, check out this

  link 

or almost equally nostalgic is

this one here

THe boys thoroughly enjoyed taking their turns on the hose to knock over pylons or bat about a few of them that were intentionally hanging in a tree.

Check out the focus on BigC as he takes his turn

Hen Monkey had a go:

As with many past visits the boys enjoyed getting up into the driver's seat (though this one is placed on the 'right' side of the vehicle). The firefighters were brave enough to leave the horn activated on this one. The boys tested it out. Several times.

The different feature of this fire hall was the outdoor kitchen display to show what happens if you have an oil fire (because everyone in Australia makes hot chips, I think) and tried to put water on it.

They both cringed at the massive fireball, but loved the effect. 

It's fairly safe to say that they'll both be covering it with a lid or a cookie sheet rather than reaching for water.

After a few sausages from the (safe) barbecue we off to 'Best and  Less' to grab a few clothing essentials. 

While this is not exactly categorized as 'essential', it was no doubt hilarious.

I love my wife.

After a quick stop at a winery
 a quick stop at a winery and then returning to buy some more for a friend
enjoying some wines at two wineries near our home and sampling some very nice reds and whites while the children played outside, we arrived back home for a quiet finish to our day.

The Weekend Plans

We don't have any.

That's correct.  Two weekends in a row with no plans. Why?   A couple of reasons.

This time next week, one of our most faithful readers, my mother, will be on this side of the world.  So we will have here weekends in a row of fun with mom.

So we are resting up.  Plus, there is some fun stuff on in Mudgee this weekend (stay tuned).

Plus...this guy. 

 This is Petey.  Petey belongs to our exchange family and he has been visiting more and more these last few weeks.  This weekend he needs a place to crash.

Today he started off his weekend visit by helping to get things organized for our upcoming visit to Queensland.

Tonight he helped out by cleaning out the soup bowls for us so that there would be no chunks of chicken to get into the workings of the dishwasher. 

The boys are over the moon to have him here this weekend.

Nothing Left to Blog About

The other day I thought to myself, "there really isn't much left to blog about".  I should not have despaired.  Life gives me so much to work with around here, it is really just a matter of time really.  

Tonight Dave is out for a "blokes night out".  I had to pop over to the next door neighbour's house to drop something off.  Of course, she and I got to chatting and I came home about 10 minutes after I left.  Monkey was supposed to be showering and Big C was meant to be playing French computer games.

When I came up the drive I could hear a commotion and could see the boys running around.  I visually confirmed that the house was not in flames (check) and that I could get a visual on both children (check, but Monkey was running around in a towel).  I came in and the boys announced that there is a frog in the shower that they are trying to catch.

Of course there is.

I was informed that they have named him "froggy woggy".  I'm going to go with FW for short.  So the plan appears to be a catch and release type of plan.  Solid.  I can support that.  I give it a go, but this little sucker is FAST.

He quickly escapes from the shower and makes his way up the hall and hits the laundry room.  Good plan FW, there is an exterior door there, we can work with this.  He is working on fear and ducks quickly in between the washing machine and the cupboards.  Fail.

So at that point I am forced to put the plastic container on top of him and encourage him towards the door.  Keep in mind that everything over here is poisonous.  Is this guy poisonous?  I have no idea.  Anyone?

We get him out in to the open and show him his freedom.

Like a smart creature that is trying to stay alive he takes the open door and makes a break for it.  Good work little fella.  Enjoy.

I head back to the front door to make my second run over to the neighbour's place with the last of my stuff when I discover this guy at the top of the door on the outside.  He is just a Huntsman though, and no threat.  I chuckle that in the confusion of coming home to discover the children running around, one in a towel, I walked right past this guy without noticing him at all.

Oranges!! (and snakes)

Every month or so once of my friends comes over and forces me out in to my yard takes me on a tour of my own yard.  She tells me what plants will be ready when and she picks stuff for me.

When we arrived there were peaches, as our long term readers will recall.  Then there were pomegranates.  I will freely admit that there may well have been other fruit that has just rotted right on the trees, and I'll tell you why.

I was pretty concerned in the planning stages of this trip.  North Americans, Canadians, I am not accustomed to the thought of venomous snakes living in the same small area as I do.  I voiced these concerns to our exchange partners once or twice, on every single call we had and they assured me (like Australians) that it would be fine.

I will pause my story here to explain to the Australians that if there was a single python loose in an Ottawa neighbourhood, the kids would be kept in at recess (if they went to school at all), there would be hourly news reports and until that thing was found, it wouldn't end.  In Australia if there are a million pythons living in the downtown area of a city, including close to schools and parks, that is just Tuesday in Queensland.  "Yes" they will tell you "we do lose a few dogs a year.  It's best not to have chickens in the yards here since it would attract the pythons."  If I ever move to Queensland I will KEEP THAT IN MIND!

Thankfully we don't have pythons down here.  We do have brown snakes.  I have laid out some fun facts about these guys below.

So the Australians suggest wearing long pants and closed toed shoes in the yard.  Rather than do that in the summer months I hid on the back porch and never ventured in to the yard.  My mom asked me a couple of months ago how close the venemous snakes are to the house.  I shared some stories that I had recently learned from people who admitted that they had been told not to tell me this stuff.

1-the children who usually live in this house watched brown snakes mating on the back table a while back.

2-the snake eggs hatched in the house since the parents had brought them inside (in a container-let's not be ridiculous) in the interests of education.

3-the resident dog almost got killed by a brown snake in December (as in, less than a month before we arrived) that was in the front yard (right under my bedroom window).

Snakes prefer areas that are overgrown to those that are well mowed with few places to hide.

Do I need to mention here that in the first couple of weeks that we were here the nighbour on one side of the house offered to come over and Round Up the yard at his expense?  No, you would to?  I hear that loud and clear!!

For those of you who don't have the testicular fortitude to click on the links above (and I DO NOT BLAME YOU) here are some highlights:

1-The Eastern Brown Snake rates number two on the world's most venomous snake list

2-This snake is possibly Eastern Australia's most frequently encountered venomous snake.

3-The Eastern Brown Snake population is classified as secure

Well that last one sure makes me feel better, let me tell you. I'd hate to think that these poor fellas were endangered.

So if you still don't understand why I may have not been keen to follow the advice "just dig around over here, I bet that you'll find some potatoes" then you were likely born in Australia.  There are not enough potatoes in the world to make me follow that advice.

Now, I have been assured that things are different.  The weather is much colder and the snakes are hibernating.  They are not out.  So back to my story, we found oranges, which is exciting!  We also found olives, which none of us are keen on at all.  There are also limes and kefir limes too!

All joking aside, it is a beautiful garden, I just wish that I was not so completely terrified of dying if I go out there.  The kids go out heaps and enjoy it tremendously.

The Boys

The boys are thriving here.  In the summer months they can run around and bike, jump on the trampoline, play on the scooters and the like.  The nice thing is, here they can do it in the "winter" as well.

Both boys packed clothes that fit when we left and some items to grow in to.  I am grateful that winter is short here, as both boys are currently wearing the same sizes in long items.  They are both growing like crazy too! Every time Dave sorts the laundry I end up with at least one pair of the children's pants in my pile.  He complains that the pants are all almost the same size.

It is a really good thing that I have been getting so many deals on clearance food at the grocery store recently. Dave and I have both noticed that there have been negotiations for the remaining dinner rather than having leftovers to store in the fridge.  The kids are both eating and growing.  Australia is good for them (not that they were short when they arrived!).

I am learning to cook larger portions than I've ever needed to in the past and to be sure that I have lots of healthy snacks available for the little tummies.

Grandma, Big C's fleece PJs don't fit.  I hope that you are intending to bring a few homemade items in larger sizes when you arrive in 8 days!!!

I have no idea what size of winter outerwear they will need when we return!

What to do on a sunny afternoon in Mudgee

Dave here.

We were blessed with a gorgeous sunny afternoon at home and no plans. So, it was time to get outdoors. I offered up a bike ride to Monkey and he was all in. 

We hopped onto our bikes and headed for a road so-far-untravelled. 

We didn't get very far before we noticed just how very close we reside to the Mudgee airport. We were able to cycle underneath a plane that was landing - no huge surprise as the sky is largely cloudless.

We cycled down the paved road and found we were surrounded on both sides by vineyards. The sprawling hills and open fields are absolutely lovely. Both Monkey and I stopped for a quick photo at the side of the road, soaking up the sunshine.

After a few km we decided that we should turn around and head for home. Monkey, with a very keen eye, not only found a leatherman tool at the side of the side of road, but also eight (8!) kangaroos sleeping in amongst the vines. At first I had a little trouble spotting them, but quickly was able to figure out where they had been resting once I got close enough to try to get a photo. I must say that I prefer to find them this way rather than when they run out in front of our car.

As we proceeded home, we noticed that the winery we passed were not only having an open cellar door, but had a deal on their 2014's to make room for the 2015 vintage.

After a quick text to Saje at home and a solid hour of wine tasting later with a wonderful manager at the vineyard, we made our way home with a box of 12 :)
Looks like we have some work to do over the next 7 months.
This is my kind of labour and I must say, I'm getting quite happily accustomed to being in the land of wine.

What the boys get up to when Saje is out of town

Dave here.
When Saje runs off to do her Spartan runs here in Australia, we aren't available to support her in person due to travel schedules and school. As such, we get the chance to have a 'boys weekend' here in Mudgee.
What do we get up to?
Well, this time around I had the athletics carnival at my school. As a member of the 'red' house I was proudly sporting my Canada gear.  We had a quiet dinner on Friday night of chicken lasagna - filled full of tomato sauce that Saje can't have.
Saturday, after a round of healthy pancakes and Canadian maple syrup, we were off to the local markets, the library, the grocery store and then back home. We had another pair of guys - N and his son M, over to play and share rissols (home made burgers) that we loaded with avocado and filled with cheese on the inside. I quite enjoy firing up the barbecue and since I had just figured out (by necessity) how and where to get the propane tank refilled, it was time for another bbq. After a movie and a trip to our favourite wine cellar door, we had leftovers in front of the TV and watched a footy match. You have to make a few allowances for different choices when mommy is out of town so that she isn't missed so much.
Sunday morning brought bacon and eggs (read mostly bacon) followed by church. While the boys played, I was able to play darts on-line with a buddy back home while chatting over text. It was almost like being in our basement back home - chatting guy stuff and enjoying some craft beer. As it was a beautiful sunny afternoon we headed out for a bike ride and found one of the vineyards just a stone's throw from our back door. We were invited to our friend's 1-year-old birthday party, so we got filled up on cake before beating the darkness home to make homemade pizza's (again with tomato sauce - so one that the boys enjoyed since we rarely have it when Saje is at home).

 Monday brought a regular school day, though the boys did need to start it by following me on playground duty (yes, I do playground duty here in Australia) and finished it with a ride home in the car. I have become quite accustomed to cycling daily and my quads are starting to show the benefits after 4 months and over 750 km so far. For supper, we decided to have some fun and made a ginger/fresh lime/ garlic/ pork/ kangaroo stir fry. It was out first go at kangaroo and the boys all truly loved it. It was a lot like beef, but with a somewhat deer-like aroma.
All-in-all the boys had a great time. Although we enjoyed our time together, we're always overjoyed when Saje returns safe, sound and ready for some overdue hugs and snuggles

Zone Running Festival

Some of you will recall that Monkey came in fifth at his school cross country meet a few weeks ago.  That placement qualified him for the zone festival.

 Today was the zone festival and our man was nervous.  He's been training hard and felt as ready as he could get.

 He ran his heart out. He didn't place very highly, but he feels good about his results. 

Here's a video of the boy running.  Yes, when he gets close enough I yell really loudly.  He's my kid, you're just going to need to live with that!

There was a brief moment of upset after the race (they didn't even tell him where he placed, just gave him a pat on the back at the finish line). However, that upset was quickly overcome when I offered to buy him a bacon and egg roll (it's an Australian concoction where you take a roll and add a fried egg and bacon).

Here we are post race.  It took a little while, but you can see the awesome smile on his face.

The Job of a Stay At Home Mom

A couple of years ago, when I was not a stay at home mom, I heard a sermon about how SAHMs can help with the family finances, even if they are not bringing in an income.  The pastor told us that SAHMs can be frugal in the use of family resources.  This means making appliances last longer, conserving resources like water and the like to reduce bills, buying a few high quality items that will last rather than many poor quality items that will need replacing quickly and just generally being fiscally resonsible.

As this is my role this year I am taking it quite seriously.  I often pop around to the grocery store after dropping the children off at school to check out the "reduced to clear" (about to hit their best before date" food items.  Today was an especially good haul!  

From to left to right: 4kg of recently expired protein powder for $30, 3 packs of chicken sausages for $3.30, 3 1kg packs of minced kangaroo for $4.07, a rump steak for $2 and yoghurt for $1.91.  I was so pleased about my sweet haul that I posted about it on Facebook.  

The overarching message was that the North Americans needed time to process that I bought kangaroo.  So let me distract you for a minute before I address the kangaroo issue.

In Canada Wolf Blass is good wine.  Not the most amazing on the market by any stretch, but good wine. The kind of wine that a SAHM might try to purchase in limited quantity. This stuff here is absolute rubbish.  No two ways about it.  It's not worth the $8 investment.  I was *trying* to be fiscally responsible! But it is crap. We bought a few bottles a while back and are now forced to live with the consequences.  As a fiscally responsible SAHM I firmly believe that we should not waste it, so, despite its lesser quality, we are forced to drink it.

It isn't easy to be a SAHM, but I'm learning as I go.

Back to the kangaroo.  In true fusion style (and my complete lack of creativity) I made it in to tacos.  So kangaroo with some onion, garlic and navy beans all cooked up together.

I even managed to incorporate the yoghurt!

Kangaroo taco fusion family selfie!

Dave and Big C took the fusion one full step further by having their seconds on pita bread.