Wine trip...

We went on the annual Hunters & Collectors wine trip to the Coonawarra.
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First stop, Bowen Estate, where Mr Doug Bowen gave us an insight into the making of his Chardonnay, the life of an french oak barrel (it is used for 3 vintages, being shaved out in between each use) and showed us how they separate the grapes from the stalks. They were very generous with their tastings and time.
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I bought some yummy things - Kalamata olives, home made tomato relish and an Apple & Mint jelly I am keen to try with pork and lamb, and some Cherry pickles which are delicious with cheese and biscuits (like quince paste). Yum!
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At the end of each row of vines they grow roses, supposedly any pests will be evident on the roses and then they can be dealt with on the vines. So many beautiful roses...
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Grapes on the vine at DiGiorgio Wines.
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Trekking between DiGiorgio Wines and Zema Estate Wines.
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On to Zema Estate, an Italian family owned winery with many delicious reds.
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Lunch at the Prince of Wales Hotel
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Lamb shanks for me...
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Crumbed flathead fillets for him...
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The happy group!
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Hollick Wines
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Back to the PoW for a few more drinks before we got back on the bus. Tequila slammer, anyone?
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The Tequila girls - Sheryl, Kerryn and Ally
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Happy times on the way home. Aren't we lucky to have this region right at our back door?
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Fortunately, I was very well behaved and did not over do it. Is that a sign of age and maturity? Kirby picked us up when we got back home and then we had Tacos for dinner. A great day spent with lots of happy people.
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Cheers - Joolz

Cross stitching with Mr Darcy...

A very lazy Sunday spent here. I got up at 7am because the corellas were making a racket
outside (as usual) and I had a reasonably early night so no probs there. I like the quiet of the house in the morning. Two cups of coffee later and I decided it was time to start cross stitching. I finished the first square on the second row and worked my way across. Then I did the two pink triangles on the right end of the top row and the brown design in the middle. Lots of progress today! While stitching this afternoon, I watched/listened to Pride & Prejudice - I can't watch with my glasses then stitch with them off - so I sort of took it in turns. Everytime Mr Darcy was on, I watched with my glasses! Lol!
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Roast pork a la Gus (in the old Weber kettle bbq) tonight with roast potato, pumpkin, carrot and peas. Yum!
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Ooh, I forgot to mention he has stuffed the pork loin with prunes, apple, orange zest, ground coriander garlic and macadamia nuts....
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Cheers - Joolz

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars...

Brianna asked me to make these Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars from Barbara at Bless Us O Lord.
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1 cup (250 gms) butter
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1 cup of brown sugar
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1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
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Cream butter, sugar & vanilla until light and fluffy...
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Add 1 cup of mixed choc chips (I use milk choc and white choc)
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Add in the flour and stir until all combined...
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Press the batter into an 18 x 28cm slice tin...
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Bake at 180C for about 20-25 minutes until dark golden brown. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes then cut into bars or smaller squares. Now hide them where no-one will find them...
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Put the kettle on and make a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy!

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Cheers - Joolz

Paintbox skies...

Tuesday Feb 15th was a sultry, muggy warm day and I thought we'd have the mother of all thunderstorms, judging by the sky. The sky sure put on a beautiful display. All of these photos were taken within 30 minutes (1904-1929) and are in sequence and Straight Out of the Camera. I am a big Intelligent Auto fan.
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View over my back fence (zoomed) ...
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Wow!
To get an idea of where I am seeing all this sky - When I look at this view above... then turn 45 degrees to my right, I see the clouds in the pic below... they are moving left toward the bright sunset...
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A black, menacing sky but behind is a white fluffy cloud and blue sky...
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These clouds were behind me as I looked towards the sunset and it cast this pink light on the clouds.
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More paintbox in the sky... This pic is taken at a 90degree turn right from the bright sunset picture.
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My favourite gum trees...
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While I was taking these pictures there were 100's of dragonflies, flying about. I've never seen them in these numbers before. I've spoken to several people since and they have been around the South East, obviously following this warm patch of humid weather.
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Over our back fence there is a little coach shed...
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Pink & grey...
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A few corellas sitting in the tree that they have stripped bare...
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Front garden view to neighbours house...
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Finale... and I heard about 10 big drops of rain on the roof that night. Yesterday, Mount Gambier had a big down pour, a real deluge - we had lots of storm clouds all day and hot, stinking humid weather then nothing.
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Anyhoo, so I am home alone this evening until Bri gets home from having dinner with her 'Italian famiglia' - kids she hung with on her Italian exchange. Six of them meet up for dinner from time to time, good fun.
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I had a hankering for some pizza and wasn't in the mood for cooking so I invited McCain to 'do it again' and chose a Speciale pizza.
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It was nice (and it actually looks better than the one on the pack) but not as tasty as my home cooked pizzas.
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Joolz