by Krista | Jun 30, 2013 | Bits 'n' Bobs
“The woods call to us with a hundred voices…” L.M. Montgomery
Hi lovelies! I’m writing you today from my sickbed where I’ve been hunkering down for the past couple of days as I weather the latest virus to come my way. Good heavens. 🙂 I cannot wait for the day that my dear ol’ self does NOT put out the welcome mat for every illness that moseys past.
Before this latest beastie invaded, I was feeling better and stronger by the day. And one glorious but cold morning I hopped out of bed before sunrise, determined to watch the sun come up from the woods behind our house.
I bundled up to the hilt, grabbed my camera and called my dog Luna and headed out through the fields just as the sun inched over the horizon.
One moment the world was gray and shadowed and the next it was a golden fairy land.
I kept stopping in my tracks and sighing happily. I still can’t believe that this is my home, my very own spot in this world. How I love it.
The light dazzled my eyes and buoyed my spirits. The exertion soon made the cold a fleeting memory and each intake of breath was clean, crisp, and invigorating.
Luna was in heaven, leaping and dashing about, startling kangaroos, wriggling with happiness every time she raced back to me.
Soon I reached the shelter of the bush.
It was exquisitely peaceful in there, quiet and solemn as each dip and hollow awaited the arrival of the sun.
I loved being just one step ahead of the sunrise, watching the golden light slip around tree trunks and through grasses.
Some moments of illumination glowed so brightly I felt like I was in a different world. I wouldn’t have been one bit surprised to see fairies dancing or woodland creatures sitting down to a morning cuppa.
I hiked down to the dark part of the bush and settled myself down against a fallen log to watch the sun rise over this last bit of darkness.
It was lovely sitting there in the shadows, alone in the forest, with time to think about things that sometimes get shunted to the side in the busyness of feeding goats and writing articles and trying to keep on top of laundry and new recipes and medieval projects.
I know I won’t always be sickly (at least I hope not!!), but I am now, and I’m finally in a place of peace about that. It’s OK to be a slow-mover, a tugboat, as my friend Mozzie calls it. Now is not a time for grand plans and massive to-do lists. Nope, these are Tugboat Days where I focus on one thing at a time.
Just one.
That’s how I get through each day – especially the awful, pain-filled ones – I just do one thing. I put away the dishes Bear washed. Then rest. I put the fixings for curry in the crock pot. Then rest. Write an article, rest, edit photos, rest, put laundry on the line, rest. That’s how it has to be right now. And the funny part is, I’m getting more done than I ever did when I was running around like a crazy woman.
Maybe because I’m doing the things that really matter. I don’t have the strength or energy to get bogged down in extra stuff. My days are distilled down to The Most Important.
And you know what? I quite like it. I’m learning to thrive as a crawler through life, as a tugboat woman. Going slower gives me time to really take in each experience, to notice things that would otherwise be a blur, to be able to deal with small issues before they become big ones.
I know I’m not the only one going through Tugboat Days. Some of you dear folks are also slowed by illness, others by children, tight finances, relational upheaval, all of the above. If you’re in Tugboat Days, I just wanted to assure you that you’re not alone, that it’s not going to be like this forever. It’s OK to move slowly, to putter away at the things you can handle and let the others go until you’re able to tackle them. It’s OK. And if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I’m only an email away. xo
As I sat in my shady hollow, the sun crept closer and closer, shimmering through grass heads and leaves until finally it burst through in wondrous splendor.
Wishing you a beautiful week. xo
by Krista | Jun 25, 2013 | Bits 'n' Bobs
Sometimes it can be downright difficult finding restaurants that are delicious and healthy. Thankfully there are places like Amphora that not only serve nutritious, scrumptious food, they also provide inspiration for making these things at home.
My friend Elizabeth introduced Bear and I to this wonderful little spot in St. Lucia (Brisbane) last weekend. I immediately fell in love with the serene interior: cool white linens, turquoise chairs, and shuttered windows letting in a soft glow of light. I felt like I’d been transported to springtime Greece instead of wintry Australia.
Amphora is a BYO (bring your own) restaurant. We’d anticipated this and bought two bottles of wine for our celebratory meal. Alas, we managed to leave them chilling nicely in the fridge. 🙂 Thankfully there was a wine shop just around the corner, so Bear nipped out and brought back a bottle of Riesling and nestled it into the bucket of ice our waitress provided for us.
Then we examined the menu, oohing and aahing our way through it as we read descriptions of pork loin breaded with rosemary and macadamia nuts and duck glazed with berry sauce. We couldn’t settle on any one thing, so we ordered a myriad of items via the Mezethes Platter along with a starter of fried Kefalotiri cheese with caramelized figs.
I’d never heard of Kefalotiri cheese, but it was fantastic – firm and salty and perfect with the sweet caramel figs. Swoon. I will definitely be picking some up the next time I’m at the Greek deli.
And then the Mezethes Platter arrived. Oh. My. Word.
This is my kind of eating. A massive platter filled with little bites to share – each one distinct in flavor, texture, and even temperature.
We ate our way through tender calamari (I confess I judge a restaurant by whether their calamari is like rubber or velvet), dolmades, slices of chorizo, smoky grilled peppers and eggplant, fried haloumi, salty feta, savory meatballs in tomato sauce, fresh veggies, and warm pita bread to dip in tzatiki, hummus, baba ghanouj (eggplant dip), taramosalata (fish roe dip), and skordalia (potato and garlic dip).
The dips were especially wonderful and I’m excited to try making the latter two at home soon.
It was all delicious and such a lovely meal to linger over, visiting happily and sighing contentedly over each bite.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, our waitress brought us complimentary Turkish delight to go with our coffees. Soft, gooey, with just a hint of roses, it was a splendid bit of sweetness to end the meal.
With full bellies and beaming smiles, we lingered long over our coffees: Long Black, Flat White, and Cappuccino.
Should you find yourself in Brisbane craving beautifully prepared Mediterranean food, give Amphora a ring. Reservations are vital.
Amphora
Address: 36 Hawken Dr, St Lucia QLD 4067
Phone:(07) 3870 0788
What is your favorite restaurant to go to for inspiration?
by Krista | Jun 24, 2013 | Bits 'n' Bobs
“There is a privacy about {winter} which no other season gives you….
In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other;
only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches
when you can savor belonging to yourself.”
Ruth Stout
Sometimes you don’t have to go far to feel like you’re in a different world.
It happened to me this weekend when Bear and I arrived at a Brisbane appointment 30 minutes early. He settled himself into a sun-filled cafe with a cuppa while I happily meandered through the wintry Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mount Coot-tha.
The light was exquisite, soft and hazy yet blindingly bright. It was a welcome respite after the dark skies and pelting rains of winter storms back home.
It is the dead of winter here yet I didn’t even need a coat! Just a wool pashmina tied snuggly around my neck, warding off the chill from the shady spots as I ambled from one sunny space to the next.
Since it was so early I had the place to myself for the most part, my own private winter garden awash with golden light that shimmered and glowed through leaves and petals.
Sigh. 🙂
In places where the sun hadn’t reached, blossoms were aglitter with tiny dew drops.
And these jeweled beauties were a piece of winter this Northern Hemisphere girl recognized: poinsettias.
I was startled to realize I’ve never actually seen them growing in a garden before, only potted in cellophane wrapped planters and delivered as gifts at Christmas time. It was lovely to see them in their natural form.
The wonderfully peaceful Japanese garden was a-flower with azaleas – in winter!! My mind boggles. It is so different from the winterscapes I grew up with in Canada.
I love these stately fellows, at once dignified and whimsical with their ramrod bearing and flashy petals.
And I love how cool and fresh these blooms are. They give me hope that Spring is on its way.
It was a gorgeous stroll and I felt all glowy myself after such beauties and soul-stirring light.
I found Bear in the cafe with our friend and we settled in for a good visit as we basked in the sunshine streaming through the open windows.
It was my kind of winter morning.
What is your favorite memory from your weekend?
by Krista | Jun 20, 2013 | Bits 'n' Bobs
“As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand
that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives
for which we should be particularly grateful.
They are the things that fill our lives with comfort and our hearts with gladness —
just the pure air to breathe and the strength to breath it;
just warmth and shelter and home folks;
just plain food that gives us strength;
the bright sunshine on a cold day;
and a cool breeze when the day is warm.”
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I love the winter sunshine in Queensland. It is so clear, clean, and blindingly bright, wonderful comfort, especially after biting winds and winter storms.
Sunny days are my favorite time to walk in the fields, to settle my stool down among the tall grasses and just sit awhile as the goats amble and feed.
It’s warm there among the reeds and leafy things, a cozy little nook protected from the wind, a quiet spot for thinking or resting or taking pictures of beautiful weeds that you never notice until you hunker down.
It’s my calming place.
I’m always enchanted by the things I find in the fields when I have nothing to do but look: gossamer spider webs, smooth reeds, and tiny blossoms.
I feel like I’ve disappeared into the pages of a Brambly Hedge story and fully expect to find fully clad mice scurrying about underfoot trailing ropes of crab apples, strings of hazelnuts, and a few bottles of homemade elderberry wine.
The fields always calm me with the sun warm on my face and the wind in the grass soothing and gentle, like waves on the shore.
When the sun is especially warm, it’s all I can do to stay awake. One day I will bring a blanket along and curl up there, hidden away in my own little nest, and fall fast asleep.
As much as I love the fields, it’s lovely to come home again, strolling along the lane, leaves crunching underfoot, as the setting sun illuminates and burnishes everything it touches.
Where is your favorite calming place?
by Krista | Jun 18, 2013 | Bits 'n' Bobs
I woke to a frost-covered world this morning, white and glittering. My breath rose in ethereal puffs when I pulled on Bear’s flannel jacket and hustled outside to let the ducks out for their morning feed. My nose and fingers were numb by the time I was done, and I was so glad to get back in the house and huddle under a blanket with a hot cup of coffee.
By mid-morning the frost was gone, melted away by brilliant sunshine, and I happily strode through the golden fields with the goats, laughing at them leap over puddles and streams from our recent storms to gorge themselves on a particularly leafy clump of bushes.
Although it’s might cold in the mornings and evenings, I love this time of year. The world has shifted and the rich sunshine streams right through my kitchen window, flooding everything with light and warmth.
Afternoon is my favorite time to cozy up inside, keeping an ear open for squawks or bleats that tell me an animal is making a ruckus and needs attention. I brew apple maple tea and indulge in reading, writing, dreaming, and planning.
After being very sick for most of the past year, it is lovely to emerge from my cocoon with the strength and energy to follow through on some of the things I’ve only been able to dream about:
Like start an Etsy shop to sell some of the wood-burned items I make. It’s not finished yet – I’ve only just put it up today and have more items to add – but I’m too excited to wait so click here if you’d like a sneak peek.
And write a book. That’s too secret to talk about just yet, but I’m in the process of writing it and hope to have it ready within the next couple of months. I promise to tell you all about it just as soon as I can. xo
You’ll also see a few changes around this space soon. Good, happy, inspiring ones to reflect the good changes in my life and heart. I can’t wait to share them with you.
In the meantime I will share these Spiced Raisin Buns with you. I make the dough in the bread machine so they’re easy as can be. I wish you could pop over for a visit this afternoon. We’d pull our chairs into the puddle of sunshine aglow in the kitchen, butter these beauties and talk for hours or just close our eyes and snooze in the sunlight. I’d love that.
How about you? Do you have any lovely plans simmering away in your heart and imagination? I’d love to hear about them.
Cheering you on always. xo
Bread Machine Spiced Raisin Buns
Ingredients:
1.5 cups water
1.5 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups whole grain flour
1.5 cups white flour
1/2 tsp each of ground cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom
2 Tbsp milk powder
1.5 tsp sea salt
1.5 Tbsp raw sugar
2 tsp yeast
1 cup raisins or currants or cranberries
Directions:
- Pour water and oil into bread pan.
- Add flours, spices, and milk powder.
- Make slight well in center of flour mixture, add sugar and top with yeast.
- Lock bread pan in machine, close lid, select Dough setting and Start.
- At first beep add dried fruit.
- When second timer goes, remove dough from machine and place on floured surface.
- Preheat oven to 375 F (200 C)
- Knead dough well several times then divide into 12 pieces.
- Shape each piece into a ball and place until nearly touching on baking sheet covered with baking paper.
- Cover and let stand in warm place for 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.
- Uncover and bake for 20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
- Brush with butter or drizzle with glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature with lots of good butter.
by Krista | Jun 12, 2013 | Bits 'n' Bobs
One of my favorite parts of medieval camping is waking up before sunrise while nearly everyone else is still sleeping.
The grounds are quiet and peaceful, and it’s lovely to get the fire burning, brew a hot cuppa, and sit near the warm campfire to watch the sun come up over the sea of medieval tents.
I love my morning cup of strong Earl Grey tea, and somehow it tastes even better made with smoke-scented hot water served in a medieval pottery mug engraved with my Aussie nickname.
Breakfast is hearty fare: pan-fried shortcut bacon (the good, meaty parts), scrambled eggs tossed with the delish crispy bits of bacon left in the pan, and thick slices of flatbread.
After breakfast there’s time to check out some of the medieval displays near us.
I love the gorgeous honey-scented beeswax candles made by my friend Stacey (see top two photos) and these beautiful medieval Hungarian glory beads made and worn by my friend Ann (see below).
One of my favorite encampments is the featuring Iron Age Vikings.
I especially like their food displays showcasing the foods that were available during their time in history. There were no potatoes then, or bell peppers or tomatoes, but they were able to make hearty stews with turnips, parsnips, and elegant purple carrots.
They made soup with dried peas, fried up eggs, and snacked on all sorts of nuts and dried fruits.
I was intrigued to learn that they would make a healing, nourishing tea by steeping pine needles in boiling water. Pine trees are in short supply in my part of Australia, but as soon as I track some down, I’m determined to try my hand at making Viking Pine Tea.
I love learning about new cultures and the foods they treasured. What food culture is most interesting to you?
