by Krista | Apr 8, 2015 | Autumn
“Okay, this is the wisdom.
First, time spent on reconnaissance is never wasted.
Second, almost anything can be improved with the addition of bacon.
And finally, there is no problem on Earth that can’t be ameliorated by a hot bath and a cup of tea.”
Jasper Fforde
Bear and I were out running errands this morning, getting groceries, picking up library books, and looking at plants, when he suggested cuppas at a sidewalk cafe.
I was delighted to oblige.
While he dashed off to finish up the last of his personal errands, I secured a table in the glorious sunshine and settled in for a luxurious read of the Autumn edition of my very favorite dreamy magazine sent all the way from America by a dear friend.
The dappled Autumn sunshine, cool breezes with just a hint of bite to them, the bustle of shoppers strolling past my table, it was all so marvelous I couldn’t stop smiling.
There’s something utterly restorative about a hot cup of something in the middle of chores or errands. Suddenly the hurly-burly of life slows down and instead of going over to-do lists and trying not to forget anything, you get to sit, and breathe, and visit about everything and nothing while you watch the world go by.
It was a luxurious break in the midst of our slightly madcap day and we both stood up from our emptied cups with spirits restored and bodies relaxed.
The rest of our errands went smoothly: finding little treasures at the thrift store, having a chat with a good friend at the shop where we buy fence-building supplies, and nabbing the cutest little fern to put in the kitchen.
We arrived home tired but happy, just in time for a glass of Oma’s homemade plum wine to warm our bones as the sun set.
What do you love most about your favorite cafe? xo
by Krista | Mar 19, 2015 | Autumn
“The richness of the rain made me feel safe and protected;
I have always considered the rain to be healing—a blanket—the comfort of a friend.”
Douglas Coupland
It rained yesterday, beautiful, heavy, dirt-soaking rain. And for a while the world was dark and cozy and wild and stormy and downright wonderful.
So we made it a day of simple pleasures: no internet, no phones, no computers. Just me and Bear spending time together doing little things we love.
We treated ourselves to a humdinger of a breakfast with extra hash browns, a side of pancakes, and both coffee AND hot chocolate. We were ravenous after two days spent building fences and planting nearly 70 tree cuttings.
We went treasure-hunting at our favorite thrift store and junk shop and found all sorts of great things: storage racks for his tools and my wood-burning equipment, hardwood planks for building my greenhouse, and some lovely old china dishes from England.
We went to the hardware store to get our new ladder and the last bits needed to finish off the orchards, and found a treasure trove of winter veggie seedlings for a song. We picked up groceries, Blood Orange and Tahitian Lime Trees for our citrus orchard, and a stack of inspiring books from the library. The titles alone send our imaginations whirring.
We had our weekly date at the bakery, indulging in leisurely visits, cheesy quiche, and sips of ice cold sarsaparilla to cool us off in the blistering heat after the storm.
After such a wonderful but tiring day in town, I like to keep things simple on the food front, raiding the pantry for things that taste good, fill us up, but require no preparation. This does the trick nicely.
What is your favorite simple meal after a day out? xo
by Krista | Mar 16, 2015 | Autumn
“Anyone who has a garden, park or orchard tree has an opportunity to ensure that it offers protection, brings beauty and bears fruit for future generations.” Gabriel Hemery
When I first moved to our farm in rural Queensland, Australia, I could never have imagined the projects Bear and I would tackle as we turned this beautiful spot into a place where little dreams come true.
One of our dreams was to have our own orchard filled with apples, plums, pears, peaches, apricots, etc. But as owners of a herd of Kalahari goats with fence-busting tendencies, we had to make sure the orchard would be safe from their voracious appetites and sneaky ways. We also had to protect the fruit from marauding birds. We both love watching the amazing birds around here – galahs, cockatoos, grass parrots, kookaburras, and more – but any fruit tree left unprotected is soon devoured by the feathered beauties.
All that to say, we had our work cut out for us to grow and harvest our own fruit.
We’ve been working in stages. First we built one row of fencing of heavy duty wire around the perimeter of the Big Orchard which houses plums, peaches, citrus, and 19 grape vines. Then we pounded in star pickets to anchor the large plastic pipes that would form the base for encasing the orchard in bird netting.
This week we’re working on building an inner fence. The last line of defense to keep out pesky goats, kangaroos, and wallabies.
It’s mighty hot work out in the blazing Autumn sunshine, but over the last day or two some cooling breezes have blown in making it more bearable. Thank. Goodness.
Being out there day after day gives us the opportunity to see the orchard up close and personal. While the plums and peaches are past producing anything, the citrus portion of the orchard is flourishing. Even though the trees are only two years old, most of them are bearing good-sized oranges, lemons, and limes.
A few of them are covered with lusciously scented blossoms. I always wondered why brides in old books wore orange blossoms in their hair. Now I know. They’re pure heaven.
Some of the trees were purchase at rock bottom prices because the labels were missing and the nursery didn’t know what they were. So they’re our mystery trees, and we look forward to finding out what they are.
Working in such hot weather regular breaks in the shade with cold glasses of something to cool us down and refresh our spirits.
Our favorite drink right now is Sima, a traditional fermented Finnish drink made to celebrate May Day. It is lemony and fizzy and not-too-sweet and slightly alcoholic, rather like ginger beer. I brewed up a triple batch this weekend, and it is divine. Those Finns have a good thing going with Sima, and we are very happy to adopt their traditional drink as a delicious pick-me-up on sweltering days on the farm.
Traditional Sima is made using sliced lemons, but I have bottles of bush lemon juice I made last year that need to be used up, so I make it with straight lemon juice and bush lemon zest instead. Feel free to use whatever suits your fancy.
What is your favorite drink on a piping hot work day? xo
Bush Lemon Sima
3.5 litres/gallons of water
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup fresh squeezed bush lemon juice
1 heaped Tbsp bush lemon zest
1/8 tsp champagne or regular yeast
handful of raisins
1. Place water, sugars, juice, and zest in a large pot and bring to the boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and sit until lukewarm.
2. Pour into glass demijohn (or large glass pitcher), add yeast and stir. Cover with clean tea towel and leave overnight.
3. Sterilize 4 1-litre/gallon bottles with lids.
4. In each bottle add one tsp raw sugar and 5-6 raisins.
5. Strain Sima into each bottle and seal well, giving it a vigorous swirl to help dissolve sugar.
6. Let sit at room temperature until raisins have all risen to the top of the liquid.
7. Refrigerate until ready to serve. This should nearly halt the fermentation process and stop the bottles from exploding, but check the bottles now and then just to make sure. Gentle open tops to release pressure if necessary.
by Krista | Dec 11, 2014 | Summer
The sky continues to rumble with thunder and dance with lightning as one storm after another hurtles its way through our farm, saturating us with rain and turning our meadows into an unrecognizable maze of waterfalls, creeks, puddles, and ponds. It’s marvelous. We’re celebrating the glorious coolness with wine, pasta, and a Leverage marathon.
I’ve been working hard this week, catching up on writing projects that had to get set aside while I was sick. It’s such a wonderful thing to send off the last article tonight and get to sink down into my chair, wine glass in hand, sharing Belgian dark chocolate truffles with Bear.
I’ve also been wood-burning a lot, sending off a flurry of Christmas orders to England, Washington, D.C., and New South Wales. I’ve got a stack of audio books to keep me entertained as I work, and find it such a therapeutic activity to balance out hours at my computer keyboard.
Being self-employed and running the farm with Bear, there’s always something to do, but I’m renewing my efforts to make time for people no matter what. Yes, I need to meet deadlines and fulfill commitments, but that’s never an excuse to miss out on building relationships with people who make my heart happy.
I’m so excited to be done my work and have a few days to hang out with Bear and visit dear friends and get ready for Christmas.
Earlier this week we went hunting for our Christmas tree and even though we didn’t find one, we happily wandered through a nursery filled with gorgeousness. I’m completely smitten by artichoke flowers and am excited to grow my own.
And after seeing this stunning water lily, I’m more determined than ever to make a water feature in my secret garden. The secret garden is still in its infancy. We’re working on getting the ground prepared and collecting stones to outline the beds and make hidey-holes for the bright green frogs that live around here. I think it’s going to be something that we’ll potter at for many years, and I don’t mind one bit.
Now another storm is coming through and it’s definitely time for a cuppa before bed.
What are you looking forward to this weekend? xo
by Krista | Jul 23, 2012 | Bootstrap Monday
I do love a Girls Day Out, especially when it involves chocolate and jazz.
Thanks to the generosity of my friend Sue who gave us tickets, my friends Ann, Shirley and I got to go to the Like Chocolate for Women event in Warwick, Queensland this weekend.
As part of the Jumpers and Jazz festivities, it provided a much-needed respite from our hectic daily lives, and reminded us of the importance, nay, the necessity of taking care of ourselves.
Held at the beautiful Warwick Town Hall, Like Chocolate for Women started off with fabulous jazz music, first a jolly group of locals outside, jamming their hearts out, later a female vocalist wowed us with her gorgeous voice and made us swear we were at a Parisian nightclub instead of a small town in Australia.
We were seated at chocolate themed tables – ours was Cadburys – and at each of our seats was a ribbon bound box filled with delectable chocolate cupcakes, cookies, truffles, and fudge. We sipped strong cups of tea and coffee while we listened to the music, feeling the anxieties of our myriad responsibilities melt away.
Speaker Kim Morrison spoke with hilarity, honesty and intuition, focusing on this one belief:
“Self-care is not selfish – It’s essential!”
Her words were not new, but somehow they came at the right time for me and, based on the responses of those around me, for many other women as well.
She focused on our willingness to lose ourselves in the care of others, forgetting to care for our own bodies, emotions, and goals.
She listed the things that are essential for good health: gratefulness, exercise, healthy eating, solid rest, good relationships. We KNOW these things, but somehow we don’t make them a priority.
We’ll walk two miles to help a child in trouble, but we can’t find time to walk two miles to keep ourselves fit and healthy.
We’d spend two hours a night making healthy lunches for our partners, children, and friends, but content ourselves with quick fast food or ready made meals for ourselves.
We’d devote a whole weekend to attending sporting events or business functions for various family members, but can’t find time for coffee and a good visit with a trusted friend.
Again, we KNOW these things. But does that keep us from living schedules and lifestyles that leave us frazzled and stressed and sick and overweight and unhappy?
It really hit home for me when Kim explained gently that how we live our lives is a shining example to the kids in our lives of what it’s like to be an adult.
Would I ever want my friends little girls or boys to feel like they don’t matter? That their goals and hopes are secondary to others? That they aren’t worthy of good health, thriving relationships, and a fulfilling life?
Never. Ever. Ever.
I know I’m probably rambling here, but that short talk yesterday really, really impacted me.
What I loved most about it is that the goal of self-care is NOT to put down anyone else. No way. The goal of self-care is for us to thrive as human beings so that we can celebrate and support the lives of the people dear to us in a strong, healthy and loving way.
I love that. That’s the sort of person I want to be.
My friend Ann and I drove home under a glorious sky, feeling rather thoughtful and emotional after all we’d heard. It was like Kim had given us permission to look our lives square in the face and see them for what they are, no apologies, no fears, no guilt, just reality. As she said, “Sometimes you need an upper cut.”
We got one. 🙂
Today I feel quiet in my spirit. Looking around my house, the farm, my little world with new eyes. I’ve been in survival mode for so long that in some senses, I’ve forgotten how to live. REALLY live. I’m changing that now.
I leave you with this beautiful snippet from the Brave Girls Club that meant so much to me this week:
“Somehow it happens that we isolate ourselves over time,
stuck in a mode of survival,
and forgetting that there’s anything else to think about beyond how to get through the next day….
or even the next few minutes.
Life is not meant for that kind of living,
even though there are stages of life that can stretch for a long time living this way.
Try to reach out today.
Call a friend and be really honest about where you are.
Try something new….a new skill, a new recipe, a new route to the same old places….
this will help you get unstuck and begin to build a live that is about
THRIVING and ENJOYING
rather than surviving and enduring.
You are SO STRONG and you are so great at surviving and enduring, friend……
but everyone who loves you wants more for you than that.
YOUR SOUL wants more than that too…..you know that, right?
You can do this….
there are so many smiles and laughs and new friendships and new adventures ahead for you.
Your best years have not even been lived yet…
you have so much to look forward to.
Decide to LIVE BIG!
You are so very loved.”
