Escape

Living with a shift worker is hard. Living with a shift worker who also studies full time is harder. Living with a shift worker, who study’s full time who is also a ghost writer is my crazy reality. It is totally nuts, while I do see my lovely lady every day, actually being able to kick back together and just chill is a rare occurrence. Trying to get away for a weekend is near impossible when you only get 1 weekend off a month, but don’t make plans because someone might call in sick and you might be needed – crazy huh? So when we finally got the chance to escape we took it – 3 nights camping in our new Marlin Camper at Cundle Flat Farm.

 

It was windy and a bit fresh. It was out of the way and totally isolated. There was no wi-fi, no phone reception and no power. There was no traffic, no neighbours and no harbour glow. There was however hot showers, flushing toilets and fresh air. There was open fires, a gorgeous river and pecan trees galore and best of all we had the place to ourselves. It was perfect. Just me and lady kicking back – no uni to do, unable to be contacted in the event someone did call in sick and no current writing gig. We chatted, we enjoyed the autumn sun, she read and I knitted. I chopped wood (and looked like a lumberjack to match) and cracked pecans as requested. We cooked on the open fire and created wind breaks when using the stove (hence the table laying on its side). We got to just enjoy each others company with out the distractions of modern life. We took time to appreciate this precious time away as we know all too well how sacred they have become.

 

       

Spring? What spring?

A month since my last blog post….sheesh I know I’m lazy but seriously where did the time go? Ok, I know where it went, it went along with the season change from winter to summer, not spring as the seasons usually change that appears to have skipped us altogether. I am talking constant days well into the 30’s (Celsius) with overnight’s barely dipping below 20! This is summer heat not spring!!! The month also made way to a 5 day camping trip complete with an open fire, a bit of craft time, a very early (29 weeks) arrival (who is still fighting strong) and a trip to A & E (period pain, seriously it was that bad that is where I ended up). There was some work (yep, I actually worked), a 50th Birthday celebration and the commencement of Master B’s swimming lessons (ain’t he lucky Aunty Naomi is a qualified instructor?).

 

 

But something else happened in that month – I forgot to plant my vegetable garden. Actually to be totally honest, I didn’t forget I just get a little over whelmed by it as I suck, I totally suck at growing things. The soil never seems right, I can’t get the watering thing down packed and I have very little success. I have big, HUGE actually, dreams about what my garden should look like and what we could do, but unfortunately that is not going to happen in our current arrangement. So here is a post about garden envy!

 

Let me start with what I can grow.

Rocket – I managed to grow a small patch over winter and we were able to have a few meals with fresh rocket straight from the garden. I even had enough for a pesto one night! The Rocket has now gone to seed with some pretty flowers (sorta), but I think I might replant for the summer. 

Lettuce – ok specifically salad leaves. This wasn’t a huge patch but it seemed to hold on and provide us with a few leaves over the winter. It is now looking a little sad and droopy but it was good while it lasted.

Parsley – I can’t even kill this stuff. It was here when we moved in some 16 months ago and is still going strong. Pity the lady isn’t much of fan of it.

   

Next up what I am also growing. Garlic – It certainly doesn’t look like it is growing strong and I suspect I am going to have some very tiny bulbs. But I was a good girl and planted it around Anzac day and will pull it out around Melbourne cup day as I was told long ago. This planter was full when I planted them and this is all that remains. Pretty drab I know.

Ok so what does the rest of the garden look like? Weed central. I have pretty much left it to do its own thing since the end of last summer. Last summer I planted 6 tomato plants, 2 zucchini, 2 cucumber, 4 capsicum, 2 eggplant, radishes, carrots and some swiss chard. My bounty – enough swiss chard to add to a couple of meals and 3 cucumbers. That was it. I’m disheartened. I have total garden envy I want it to look like THIS. Kate, Bren and their 3 girls have the most awesome kitchen garden (on top of there commercial one) and every time I see a blog post showing their garden I get envious. I want mine to look that awesome!!!!!

   

I certainly don’t have a green thumb. I want to. I really really do. So help me out I am after suggestions. So far this has not been a cost effective initiative for me. Soil and compost is expensive (I can’t have a compost pile as much as I want to as the garden is already in the common area of our unit complex). I do grow everything from seed (I seem to be able to do that much ok), I have books that I adore and read and read to no avail. I want a lush garden, I want to eat a meal entirely grown by me, I want to think I am saving money. HELP!!!!!

A trip and now I’m back

Where have I been? I haven’t popped in for awhile I know. But this time I wasn’t at home, as we took a much needed trip away! We packed up the car and headed North for a spot of camping to unwind and recharge (of sorts anyway).

 

Our destination? Well, originally we were heading to Red Rock, a tiny seaside town where you camp literally over the sand dune from the beach but right on the river bank too (it’s on an estuary in short). Perfect for floating down the river and catching waves. However (you so knew that was coming), the weather had other ideas, yep those are fantastic and gorgeous storm clouds you can see below. The camping sites were under water and the weather was looking threatening so a change of plans was in order.

 

After checking out a couple of other camping grounds it was clear that wasn’t going to happen for the first night, so we checked ourselves into a lovely hotel (complete with buffet breakfast) till morning to reassess what our options were! As morning broke we were greeted with this fantastic day as we headed down to the beach from the hotel. Yep we were the only ones to be seen and my lovely lady posed for photos!

 

 

 

 

But we hadn’t packed up the car to go camping to stay in a hotel so we headed into Coffs Harbour and checked into Park Beach Holiday Park. This place holds lots of memories for me as my dad hails from these shores. Every year or so we would head up the Pacific Hwy from Sydney and camp at the very holiday park I was now staying at with my lady, I’ll admit while the location is the same the grounds have changed a lot! We got the tent up, the sunshade up, the camp kitchen up and then relaxing set in! There were swims at the beach, swims in the pool (with bonus injuries lucky me – tip head first down the waterslide ends bad if you put head down too soon) and lazy strolls around the park. I crocheted and cooked dinner and the lady edited away AKA put red pen all over someone’s manuscript, which is her idea of fun and relaxing! (Writing a book? Want it edited? Check her site out HERE) 

 

 

After a few days of chillin’ we went for a drive out to Dorrigo just cause we could. There were dirt roads, farms, forests, roadside forages, rivers and water falls and limited photos (sometimes taking out the camera goes into the “oops I forgot” basket)!

 

 

To top off our time away we spent time with my Aunty’s, Uncle’s and Cousin’s! It had been 2 years since I had seen them all so the trip was long overdue! AND I got to meet my new second Cousin for the first time!! She was too cute and very proud of herself as she learnt to push her walker and stand on her own (and she isn’t 1 till May)! Hopefully it won’t be 2 years till I see them all again!!!!

After all that it was time to head home, back to the reality of work and paying bills. But a few outtakes from our trip to leave you with:

• Not only did I smash my nose on the waterslide going face first, I also managed to crack my knee on the step getting out of the pool. I hit it that hard I was lucky not to have cracked/dislocated my knee cap which is now sighting a lovely bruise!
• The trip to Dorrigo wasn’t so straight forward. We decided to go the back road through a town called Coramba. However after driving the 30mins or so out there we discovered the road was closed and we needed to drive all the way back into Coffs Harbour, down the highway and out the other road. What was meant to be a leisurely 2hr or so trip turned into a 4.5hr epic!
• I sat on a camping chair and went straight through. Yep I broke the chair. Lucky the family were close, a quick call, a 10min car trip and we had seating again!
• When the morning came to pack up to head home it rained. And rained. And rained. Needless to say when we got home everything need to be dried. (This is the worst thing about camping – when it rains you pack up twice!)

Getting back to nature

Firstly I want to apologise for their being no 1 simple photo post on Friday, I didn’t forget per say, more it was the furthest thing from my mind as I busily packed the car for a little camping trip over the weekend! It has been over 18 months since we just got away and did nothing, so it is fair to say this trip was long over due! So while my partner headed to work for a 6am start (I had to drop her there. Yuck!) I got packing the car. Let me explain to you want a task that is. We live in a unit on the top floor of our unit complex, half our camping gear is in the unit the other half is in the laundry, which fortunately is downstairs, add to that the garage is under the front of the complex and our entry is at the rear with a nice steep walkway connecting the two, so packing the car was not as quick nor enjoyable as it should have been, but alas I got it done!

 

With the car all packed, I picked the girl up and we headed off to the campgrounds at Ferndale, which is only about 1hr 20mins from home. We had never been there and didn’t know what to expect, but it was fantastic. Basic, definitely, but Fantastic!!!!! We could pick were we camped, could have a fire and still have hot showers!!! Perfect!

 

The dreaded, I’m sure I forgot something was of course in the back of my mind, and of course I did forget something – the memory card for the camera, not the fully charged camera, no the memory card that goes in it, doh!!!! Solution, pics on my new iPhone5 (yes people I have finally upgraded from the 3) while the battery lasted (man that battery dies quick!)!

 

This was a trip of first’s for the girl, see while I grew up camping with my family, my partner barely went on a holiday, let alone camped! This is not her first camping trip (we ventured out on a 3 week 5000km camping adventure a few years ago) but it was the first time she walked in a river, toasted marshmallows on a fire, cooked on a fire (or more like ate the food cooked on a fire as I did all the cooking) and camped in a remote spot. We both had an awesome time and I am already planning another trip!!! When?? Who knows, but I don’t think 18months between trips is the way to go!!!

 

 

Once camp was set up we needed somewhere to dry the towels!

The drinks needed to be chilled!

   

The fire was started, creating lots of coals and damped right in time to cook dinner!

   

The view from the campsite was so peaceful, look how far the other campers were?

   

The Chinchester River looking oh so clear and tranquil.

 

Boiling the kettle the old school way, complete with the whistle when it is boiled! Now, this little fella was apparently very impressed with my steak cooking abilities after taking it right off my plate as I happily munched away on my dinner. I kid you not, that black thing hanging out of the kookaburra’s mouth would be my steak! It scared the bejeezes out of me, and apparently I squealed like a girl!!!! All I can say is I hope he enjoyed it!!!!!