Australia Day

We took a quick trip down to Hastings for Australia Day.  The kids had a fantastic time.  There were rides and jumping castles and a climbing wall.

Lots and lots of flags!

  

Even the Westernport Band had flags all around.

  

The flag raising was really something special.  Small differences to what we are used to.

Hastings is a beautiful little town.  There is mooring for quite a few yachts. 

 

Fishing is also popular it seems, especially amongst the pelicans.  My daughter saw them and started yelling ‘Nemo!’.  No matter how hard we tried explaining that they were pelicans, she was not interested.

We really are grateful to this country for giving us a home.

Rude Awakening

In our area we have a lot of cockatoos breeding in the trees surround the farmland and in the parks.  This specific type is a Long-billed Corella.  I used to find them fascinating….

but after a few mornings of these huge flocks screeching over the house, I am not so enamoured anymore.

Today three flocks came flying into the park while the kids were playing.  Unfortunately I saw a little of the movie “Birds” as a kid.  Not a good combination.  The cockatoos are fast, like little torpedos.

They all landed in the branches, calling to each other.  They seem to be really social birds, though a bit rough and tumble at times.

Soon they will move on.  Then I can sleep late over weekends.  Oh I forgot… I guess with kids up early I will still not get to lie in!

Loving the clouds

The weather has been very changeable (ok, not something unusual for Melbourne!) bringing lots of wind and clouds our way.  I love it!  The clouds in the morning and at night make for spectacular effects.

Sometimes it helps to get up on a hill for a better vantage point.  This is Berwick (the southern part).

Pies!

We love eating pies.  In South Africa you could get them for relatively cheap and you always had a huge variety.  In Australia, well… the pies are a lot different to what we were used to.  Thankfully, you get pie makers so you can make your own!

My eldest's favourite is cheese and ham.  I used shop-bought puff pastry, added some chopped ham and grated cheese and voila!  Even the younger two approved.

The kids loved it!  A definite make-again for us.

Beating Lethargy

It is getting to the stage of the holidays where I just want to curl up in bed and sleep until noon.  The kids are getting bored with the normal distractions and the house is progressively falling into a chaotic black hole.  I made a deal with myself to make a big effort today and get all of us out of the house.  So… today I did 5 loads of washing, took the kids swimming and enrolled us at the local library.

 

My oldest especially was really grateful about going to the library, since he is a ferocious reader and he finished his Christmas books weeks ago.  He even got himself an audio book so he could listen to a story while falling asleep.  He gets his funny reading positions from me, unfortunately for him!

I turned one room into a ‘library’.  That means I put all the bookcases together in one room and placed all the extra chairs and beanbags there.  With all the books together, I realised I need more book shelves!

Thankfully we all love reading.  Even my youngest gets excited about books.

Grandpa and granddaughter

I took the opportunity to take photos of my father-in-law with the kids while he was here for a visit.  This is my entry for the iheartfaces challenge this week: “We are family”

Bread and Butter Pudding

The baked dessert was Bread and Butter Pudding.  There seems to be a lot of versions of it around.  This one I grew up with.

Ingredients:
slices of white bread
butter or margarine
2 eggs
½ cup of sugar
pinch of salt
3 cups of milk
½ cup of raisins

 

Butter the bread and cut the slices into blocks. 
Whisk the eggs, sugar, salt and milk together.
Place a layer of bread blocks in an ovenproof dish. (I use a 3.5l dish)  Sprinkle some raisins over it.  Keep alternating layers of bread and raisins until the dish is almost full.  Leave a little space since the pudding can rise a bit. 
Pour the milk mixture over the top.
Let it stand for about half an hour.  Bake covered in the oven (160 degrees) for half an hour.  Uncover and bake until the top has browned.

Works well served with custard or ice cream.

Hope you enjoy this dessert as much as we do!