Monday, February 22, 2010

Hahndorf (our treat)

Greetings blogsters!
I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine wasn't the most exciting (very quiet one) so this morning I went with my daughters (as a bit of a treat) to a place called Hahndorf. (Around 40 min drive from the city).
It's a quaint Little town in the Adelaide hills,  Sth. Australia.

At Hahndorf they have this gorgeous cafe` called chocolate n.5. They make the best hot chocolate and waffles to die for. (Our treat when we need a pick me up).



I forgot to take a photo of the waffles,  it wasn't until half way through eating, that I realise I hadn't taken a photo of the very thing we went there for.

It had been a while since we had some waffles and as this will be my last treat for 4wks you can understand why I forgot to take the photo, I was busy savouring every mouthful.

There are some beautiful old stone buildings and lots of amazing art and craft shops at Hahndorf.
Hahndorf was established by German immigrants in Adelaide.
This gorgeous red vintage car was out the front of a craft shop.

This beautiful old wagon advertises the market.
This brought back memories of when I was a child and used to ride on the back of one.
(Back home in Italy).

I love stone buildings!
 I don't think modern buildings have anywhere near the charecter, these have!
The wooden tubs all over the footpaths add charm to the place!

This is a great tourist attraction so if you come to Adelaide go see it. It is only around 40min.,  from the city.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy St. Valentine's Day everyone!


This morning at church, the priest told us the story of how Valentine's day came about.
Apparently in the time of the reign of Claudius 2nd., Claudius decided he didn't want his army of men to get married because he wanted them to be totally dedicated to the army. When Valentine saw the distress these young men suffered he went against Claudius and married them in secret.
When Claudius found out, he had Valentine Tortured and beheaded. Not a good story but  if it's true, it goes to show what people would do for love! (This is a short version Google it if you want to find out more).
I hope you all had a super Valentine's day and wishing you all much love!

Happy Chinese New Year as well!

(We had a beautiful dragon, dance in Church this morning). They put on a good show!
I hope you like the clipart, I got off the net free, (Thanks to the generosity of the people who create them and give them away). There sure are some talented people out there!!!
LL Nat xxx

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Waterfall Gully Walk.

Greetings Blogsters!
Yesterday we took my cousin (who is over from Italy) for a walk up the hills to a place called Waterfall Gully, here in South Aus.

We went for a nice walk up the mountain with lots of nature to see along the way. We were going to go all the way up (3km) but when we got about 1km up it was just too hot so we turned back. (It a very steep climb).

I was able to take some lovely shots so I thought I'd share a few with you.
If you want to see more you can click on my flickr link.
The first two are of the waterfall. (I know! To those of you who have humungus waterfalls, this is more of a trickle). To us though it's a Waterfall.
I love this spot, it's so serene and only less than ten minutes from the city!
I love Blackberries and although they're just starting to ripen, I have to confess I JUST HAD to sample. YUUUMMMY!!!
This photo below is my fav, I would love this in my back yard!
This photo below is a game for you, it's called 'Spot the Cricket'.
This looks like debris but there is a treasure among it.
Let me know if you found the cricket!

I love the dry tree branch holding on tooth and nail, left and right is a photo of the woods, pretty!


We had a lovely walk getting to know my cousin whom we'd never met, he said he really enjoyed it too but wished it was a bit cooler so we could've gone all the way up.
My husband has agreed to take him back next week, one morning, early, before it gets too hot and then they'll have breakfast at the restaurant which has been (cleverly) constructed at the top.
LL Nat

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

My Hat and Scarf

A few days ago My daughter asked me if I wanted to go to Spotlight with her, I jumped at the chance!
While she was looking for material to make my other daughter a bag, (which turned out beautiful by the way) . I went to look at the bargain table. (I love bargain hunting).
I found 3 ball of this gorgeous wool for $2 ea. I thought 'this will make a nice warm hat'.
Let me tell you, it is not easy to crochet with this wool, as it goes from quite thin to very bulky, as you can see in the picture.
The other night, there was nothing interesting on tv (I'm sick of crime shows) so I decide to crochet my hat. Here it is.  It was quick (I did it in a few hours) although the wool was annoying to pull through when it got to the bulky bits. No patterns were used. I just followed my instict!
I found a button in my collection that went perfectly with it so I stitched it on.

Considering we have been having weather in the high 30s, I never thought I'd be making a winter hat.
I had 1 ball of wool left over so I decided to make a scarf to go with it. I crocheted 3 long strands of chains, platted them together, tied the ends in a knot at top and bottom and left the ends loose as tassles.




As you can see it is bulky in places and thinner in others but I like things that are a bit different so at least I don't have to worry about seeing anyone else with the same! 
Total cost $6.
I hope you like and it inspires you to create!
LL Nat


Saturday, February 6, 2010

Organic, Home grown v Bought

Recently I bought some nectarines that looked a million dollars but when I ate them, they tasted like poison!

I don't know what they use to treat them but if the taste (and the way my stomach felt afterward) is anything to go by, it can't be good for you.
This, (needless to say) has brought me to appreciate the few fruit and vegies we  grow in the garden. I thought I'd share them with you.

These are some peaches we have at the moment. Although they don't look the best, they taste amazing!  I guess that's why they call them 'Million dollar Peaches'
Nothing beats the taste of home grown fruit!!!
Below is a picture of our blood oranges, they are green at the moment but I can't wait till they ripen as they are the only oranges I (absolutely) love!!!
We are now trying to grow as much organic produce as we can. I'm encouraging my husband to plant more fruit trees.
We also have fresh herbs, (which I love cooking with as nothing gives the same flavour to foods), lemon tree, chilli plant, eggplants, potatoes.
Below left is a photo of the potato plant flowers. ( I think they are so prettty) Vegetables and herbs actually have some very pretty flowers!!!
To the right is the flower from a plant called chicory, which is a bitter lettuce type of plant, to cook as greens. Very healthy!
In the middle is a branch of our lemon tree.


Last but not least I thought I'd show you a photo of the pomegrate (as in an earlier post) fully ripened. This is a photo of one from last year as this year's have a few weeks to go yet.
The grandchildren have a ball picking the seeds out ot them and eating them!



When our Mulberries are in season I will take a photo of them and show you what they look like.

I hope this inspires you all, to grow some fruit and vegetables, because no matter how small your garden you can always grow something, even if it's in pots.

LL Nat