The Bells are Ringing

And not Christmas bells. This time it is wedding bells.

I am off to a very special family wedding.

I was honoured to be asked to do some baking for this happy occasion. My job is to make gingerbread biscuits that can double as place cards. As it is only a small affair, I have jumped at the chance to add my own bit of homemade goodness to the day. (Some Greek friends of mine, who are getting married next year, have over one thousand guests coming to their wedding.)

Over the past few months we have been taste testing various gingerbread recipes and have finally settled on one. Today I managed one last test before the proper baking tomorrow. As there are 17 guests, only two batches will need to be made. The vital learning point from today's run-through was to not get distracted as the biscuits seem to lose their charm when they get a little too crunchy around the edges. I think I will be needing to lock the kitchen door in the morning to keep everyone out.

So tomorrow afternoon we are off to Ireland for a week, celebrating with family we haven't hugged in five months.

See you just before Christmas.

Take care

PS Sorry about the photos. With the sun setting just before 4pm and the low light globes,everything looks a little orange.

Being a Tart in Switzerland

We're having a ball training our way around Lake Geneva at the moment.

Now, knowing the sort of person I am, I thought I would have been reporting back to you all on the huge amounts of chocolate on offer (especially as it is totally amazing). Instead I need to share the wonders of the Onion Tart with you. I bought a Zwiebelkuchen in Bern and fell in love. Even though we were only in town for 24 hours, I managed to go back the following day for another. As we left Montreux today for the train to Geneva, I happened to buy another for my lunch on the journey.

Unfortunately there are no photos as I am having a little trouble blogging from the iPad, but I will share with you this recipe that I will certainly be trying in the near future.

If any readers know about these amazing tarts and could pass on an authentic Swiss recipe, I would be incredibly grateful.

Take care

PS Don't forget the giveaway.

Another week flies by

Last week seemed to fly by. The weeks seem to be doing that as we scurry towards December. I keep confusing myself with as I associate colder weather with the middle of the year and then it dawns on me that it is the end of November. The shorter days are also messing with my brain as the sun is setting just before 4pm and by about 7pm we are all thinking that we should be off to bed. I think we will be in for a rude awakening on our January return to Australia.

We made the most of a couple of days last week and boarded a train to Weimar: an amazing place full of so much history.

Goethe and Schiller made it their home.

 

Goethe's house on the right.

Christmas markets taking shape.

Back in Perth, I had been making my own yoghurt for a while. It is a little time consuming but totally worth it.

I have come across a yoghurt making kit that I am loving. Years ago I had a Easiyo maker and made the packets quite regularly. The things I love about this kit is that the yoghurt is made by heating and cooling milk, and adding some yoghurt to start, as opposed to adding water to a packet mix, as I used to with Easiyo. The warm milk is then poured into a glass jar rather than a plastic container. It uses 1 litre of milk to make enough to fill the jar. Our second batch is sitting in its little esky as I type.

The weekend seemed to revolve around food. Not only snacks of freshly made organic yoghurt with a drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkling of slithered almonds, but also quite a few recipes from the new cookbook.

Carrot, cashew and orange salad

Chachouka

Spouffle

Souffle with pasta

I even managed to finish another book that I bought for the train journey. Although the book was written 6 years ago, it was an good read and interesting to see how others go about changing their habits for the betterment of their family's health and the environments. This is one that I think I will need to reread to highlight all the tips and website links listed.

Take care

PS Did anyone manage to get to Josh Byrne's open garden on the weekend? I would love to hear about it.

Keeping Warm is On My Mind

We're back from a fun-filled trip to the UK to visit family and experience the wonders of Lewes Bonfire Night.

I'm joining in with Rhonda again.

The cold weather is now officially on its way. Single figure daytime temperatures and freezing overnight are what I call chilly.

On a recent trip to Humana, a fabulous second hand clothing store, I was on the lookout for a coat or two. The clothes we brought with us were geared toward summer as we knew that any winter clothes we wore in Australia would not cut it for a Berlin winter.

I managed to find these two coat and couldn't be happier. The green woolen coat was made in Austria, while the burgundy one comes from Italy, and is a blend of wool and cashmere. They are both super warm and cut out quite a bit of the cold wind.

Clothes shopping is generally like a punishment for me. I spend my time searching for plain, uninteresting clothes. No glitter, no loud colours, no bedazzling! Buying second hand feels like a bit more of an enjoyable experience. It is much more fun to look through the racks of one-off clothes, hoping that the item that catches my eye is in my size.

After seeing the prices of some of the new coats, I feel better knowing that I spent a fraction of these amounts on my purchases and the amount I did spend is going to charity. I also love the history behind each piece. These are both beautifully made and I'm sure I will be able to pass them on to my kiddies in the years to come.

Teamed up with my boots, scarf, gloves and beanie, each of these coats are earning their keep in my wardrobe.

Take care (and stay warm)

A Short Break in Transmission

We're off for a few days to enjoy the fun of an English Bonfire Night.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Take care

Our Time in England

I had planned to get his up last week but here was so much that I wanted to be sharing that these seemed to get pushed to the back. There a still a number of half written posts that need to be finished before the content gets too out-dated and needs major editing.

Anyway, back to the travels.

Our next stop after HK was England.

We stayed in a village about and hour and half from London, which was such a contrast to Hong Kong.

On one of the five days we had in the UK, we took the train up to London for a bit of an excursion. There were plans of galleries, museums and general wandering, most of which we managed before the throbbing feet got the better of us.

The Science Museum was where the day started. So many amazing displays but this one caught my eye. It was about recycling and reusing clothing. There were dresses made of newspaper (you've gotta hope it doesn't rain) and other outfits made of recycled bits and pieces. This one below was my favourite though as it was a skirt make of these gorgeous hexagons but there was no stitching what-so-even. Those seamstresses amongst you might like to scroll to the next photo and have a look at how the pieces of felt are interwoven. So clever.

The maritime section was full of models of old ships and figureheads. I loved listening to one little girl dawdling after her dad, pointing at each ship as she passed and asking, "Is that the Titanic?" only the answered by an obviously tired father, "No, darling."

The Maths nerd in me was super impressed here.

Over to the Natural History Museum for our next bit of tourist action. The approach to the building is stunning with the gorgeous gardens.

Once inside we all felt like we were on the set of Night at the Museum. Apparently they even do sleepover tours. Spooky.

What visit to London would be complete without a wander along Regent Street and down to Hamley's? It is really more for the experience as it seems to be full of the same old bits and pieces that you can buy just about anywhere now. I remember the first time I went there were lovely handmade, wooden toys. There were a few Hamley's exclusives but mainly just plastic 'stuff'.

A quick stop by the Palace in between the afternoon showers. It is amazing to think that this whole area had been abuzz with the Royal Wedding only a few months earlier.

The village we were in was now far from the gorgeous town of Lewes. We had been through there about 11 years ago and fell in love with the place. The beautiful architecture and gardens, and friendly people make this such a wonderful place to visit.

Next stop, Spain

Take care

Bonjour Mon Lovlies

I have just arrived in Paris after a wonderful five days in and around Barcelona. This is our last stop before we set down some roots for a while. We have five months planned in one city but I am not going to let you know where just yet. There is too much to tell you about so far.

This is just a quick one as I am about to head off to bed but feel that this little space has been some what neglected recently with all of the fun over at Sow. Give. Grow. (i do hope that those of you getting your next season seedlings on the go have had a read about the next Giving Day and have decided to join in the sneakiness.) I always feel a little lost with no real internet connection.

During our evening walk to gather some supplies for dinner, we stumbled across some bicycles for rent in the streets. This is such a wonderful idea and was amazed after a bit of research how many countries do something like this.

I am reading a great book as I travel called A Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz and he talks about what a great system this is apart from the fact that the ones near his house are either always out or have been locked up by someone with their own lock.

As I am from a city that is spread out and not really cycle-friendly, I would love to get some comments from people in cities where this sort of system operates, or where cycling is easy to do. Do you like it? Does it work?

Off to bed to get ready for a day of exploring tomorrow. If only we had been here a week ago to bask in the glory of Cadel Evans' win. Oh well.

Take care

Butterfly Spotting in the English Countryside

We arrived in England this morning and, as we felt rather bedraggled, thought that a bit of fresh air would help us feel a little less jet lagged.

The weather was a welcome change from the constant air conditioning of airports and planes. Feeling the sun on bare skin warmed us right through.

This walk was not just a gentle meander, but a walk with a purpose. We were taking part in the Big Butterfly Count. This is a great project aimed at taking a survey of the butterfly population.

Although many of the subjects were too fluttery for my dozy eyes and tired shutter fingers, I did manage to snap a few of these precious little insects.

And while out and about I couldn't help but feel a little Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall gathering some blackberries from the 'wild larder'.

Those of you that are in the U.K. and have joined in the Big Butterfly Count, I would love to hear which sorts you found.

Take care

Public Transport that Works

While away from home, I always love using public transport, especially in big cities like Hong Kong where a lot of forethought and planning has gone into the whole system. I am from a city where bits are just added as the city gets bigger.

The MTR in Hong Kong in fabulous.

It is used by so many people that the trains run every few minutes which make getting around the city so easy. We have used the public transport every day and feel more and more confident every time we enter a new stations. Also because this form of transport is so popular, the prices are amazingly cheap. In Perth, travelling 3 or 4 stops up the line costs me nearly $4, which doesn't really encourage use. The regularity of trains in incredible too. If you miss one, you really only need to wait for about 3 minutes.

Each of us has an Octopus card and this has allowed us to jump on and off trains, trams and ferries easily.

We even managed to get up The Peak and across to Kowloon using these cards.

I can't really see the need for a car with system that works this well.

Take care

P.S. To those bloggers who I regularly read, I will get back to stopping by to your blogs as soon as I have more regular internet access. I am looking forward to catching up with everything you have been doing in a few weeks.

Out of the Loop

I just realised how long it has been since I have been here.
So much has happened in the last week or so.
My family and I are off on a bit of an adventure. We are in Hong Kong at the moment and heading for Europe, so for the next six months I will hopefully be sharing with you my adventures in trying to live sustainably and frugally while travelling.
Make sure to come along for the ride.
Take care