Upside down junket

 Oh good start blogger, I do a photo dump and dump you do. So here goes my last little while, as it happened, but backwards.

Image: the flying kangaroo insignia above the agricultural patchwork of Inland Paradise.

It was the second time we had seen that viewing our return flight this morning.

Image: not the postcard view of Brisbane aka the Big Smoke 

An hour earlier, we had left the Big Smoke. 

I know, aren't I lah-di-dah?!

Image: a rich vein of headlights through a viscous urban morning.

This is how the Big Smoke wakes up, 5.30am on a late Winter's day.

Image: the rising of the sun silhouetting the skyline of cement.

You gotta agree, 18 floors above the lobby is quite a view!

Image: some bloke on the telly in the corner of my apartment - how swank!

The biggest luxury as a wife and mother is a night of complete control of the remote and no-one to judge your choices. 

Heck, I didn't even care what I was watching! Bliss!!!

Image: the night is a little more gaudy in it's approach 

I did actually try to move the hand thing along too, by the way. I won't document it here because it's confusing enough when trying to piece it together in general, but long story short, nowhere nearer having an appointment with the elusive Dr, but the bloddy thing is turning into some Odyssean drama.

Image: to the South from Room 1802 last night - buildings, lights in golds, silvers and blues.

The new cooktop is another drama requiring more money, a shell game, thoughts about retail ethics and at least one more phone call.

Image: Asian soup in a China bowl with noodles and greens and cabbage and mushrooms and beef with a chilli oil (medium semi-adventurous white girl strength) and fried shallot, garlic and coriander - all the fun things - and a mango coconut smoothie. D has a stir-fry (the other option was they would make it into a curry.

My only suggestion was smaller pieces please?

White girl with chopsticks and a spoon - and even one of those useless wooden forks - was no match for some of the vegetable matter. I thought that they would chop it? which apparently is a pretty dumb thought to just think - that don't work.

Absolute yum though, and relatively good value for this day and age (& Big Smoke prices).

Image: plane propeller in mist morning prior 

Forty minutes prior I had been standing in line at Qantas check in. System down so manual check in. Flight delayed 20 minutes. At least better off than this poor girl who had missed her earlier flight, luggage locked in the house of her host who is in detention because she assaulted said guest instead of the promised trip to the Great Barrier Reef. 

I mean, what the heck world!

Image: photo credit to my sister.  ,(I will update with her link)

A womans hand holding two fingers of a man - both belonging to older people.

Mum and Dad both had birthdays in the last week. They have one week a year of being the same age - 87 - and 61 of those together. Isn't it a beautiful picture?

The week before my sister, brother, spouses and village moved them into the local "Resort". We were, as alluded to a few posts ago, in the Big Smoke dealing with other things.

Image: the back of the crucifix given to my aunt by a friend of her faith 

The good news is that my aunt is not only alive but survived the operation that has a slim chance of allowing her a little independence - such a relative term 

Image: words in page.

Hi, sorry it took me 

five days to get back

to your text.

I myself am 

understaffed at the 

moment.

An oldie previously used - I don't have time to harvest memes as well.

Heading out to see the folk at the resort tomorrow. Back next week.

You?

A surprisingly great, surprising, great weekend

 What a world away from last Thursday.

Image: not my wrist! Screenshot of some weird-a** AI generated movie promo for a movie that doesn't actually exist but leads you down a pathway on a - ? If Elizabeth had Elizabethan Era and George Georgian Era then is Charles Charlian? Serious question!

Sought medical advice.

Sent for CT scan.

Whilst awaiting being diagnosed with hypochondria, a condition that I had already self-imposed, I was surprised by a call from the GP, confirming instead the diagnosis foretold on initial verbal description given on Day One by  my big sister.

Image: flowers for my aunt organised by said big sister

No success as yet of a date to see a hand surgeon. After a circular phone call bingo bust on Friday I heard of my Aunt's very resolute (if slightly confused) recovery of mind and put into progress a plan of connection.

I drove back to the big smoke with 'Salina yesterday morning, met with an absolute blessing of a friend who ferried me, fed me, made possible for me to spend time with my aunt, my friends and I got to meet her admired family member and she a special clan of mine.

Image: the most amazing poached chicken  which has fennel and radish and garlic and goodness and parsley and vegetables and yummy, yummy comfort food she threw together in less than 40 minutes 

I laughed much with my aunt and she got to talk with me and discuss with each other our wishes and plans and her options and pragmatic hopes and she got communion and a video call with many extended family and, oh my goodness flowers and the most amazing superwoman who is the embroidered cushion epistolated with "when you want something done, ask a busy woman". I am in awe of the amazing women that I was around this weekend.

Many "I am not a do nothing sort of woman" in each their own ways.

Image: just a bit of the divine crazy that was my time 

Then I drove, had pizza, drove, heard podcasts, dozed (don't worry, had a driver), burgered, showered, connected with Paris and crashed. There were a few great blokes in but parts too. But some absolute crackers of women.

Goodnight.

Beetroot, busted and the blonde bombshells

 So it's been a time.

Image: sunrise from the sunroom at New Paradise 

We have a ripening crop of beetroot in the garden. No picture which is pretty dumb because it looks amazing.

Image: Hill End corner of the Brisbane River 

I would tell you the yarn of my early conversion to the magenta side, but I busted my wrist while on my way to a specialist appointment behind a fake Eiffel Tower last Tuesday. 

Image:  Cranes on the horizon at sunset - P A hospital August 2026 - not a player in any of the story except scenery

I was obviously suffering main character syndrome, as we were in the big smoke for other medical stuff for another of my clan whilst 'Salina minded the cats.

Image: Miss G and - hmmmm, she has not yet got a blog name, what do you think?

I would also tell you of the blonde bombshell with the mathematical brain and the burning desire for justice and her amazing life drama with highs and lows and anecdotes galore who tonight is entering her final drama but the night is late and the thumb now aches.

Image: their mother and our mother once upon a time 

She is wanting to see her Bob and her Mum and her Dad who she hasn't seen in so long and I pray that her pathway from here to there is as trauma free as possible.

((((( Senator K-Katy )))))

Late edit: Katy is still going strong, although the hips are not so resilient...

CFD* - nuttelex pumpkin risotto

 CFD* - Comfort food discovery

I am 18 miles into a marathon here and it seems it's been uphill all the way. ...

Me time? Those moments caught generally within my car with podcast or audiobook or my own thoughts and silence.  Or in the kitchen.

...

I am currently in love with a pumpkin risotto from an advertisement within a free supermarket magazine.

I am sure that the advertising worked as far as brand awareness goes. However I am a girl for the substitute and so it won't translate into sales.

I made it tonight. It's dead easy. If the originator of this wants acknowledgement I will gladly do so because yum.

First, remember to have ingredients. I mean I had the main ingredient - pumpkin in the form of a beaut little pumpkin from my Dad's.

Onion, however, was in short supply when sought. A half of a large red onion was found in the good round container with the screw-top in the fridge. And luckily I only needed 2 cloves of garlic, because that's what we had.

When I peeled and deseeded and diced the pumpkin, I had 660g.

30g nuttelex (substitute butter if you are a filthy cardio-clog-loving foodie afraid of fats from vats of numbers type) melted in an ovenproof pan with a lid (I have a beauty).

Then add onion and garlic and cook to translucent. (Until the new cooktop comes in and we get someone to install said new cooktop, we have to cook on the existing cooktop and it only has one speed and that's gallop like hell.) (This is why I would never tell you how hot to cook something - how the heck would I know?)

I use brown rice. Sorry Italians. I steal your perfectly good cuisine and adulterate to the inner -1970s- crunchy-hippie wannabe palate. Chuck in 1 1/2 cups - I gave it a little rinse for the dust and stuff (and a silent prayer for the potential chemicals) (and the taste) and let it sizzle the moisture out rather than use white wine (dry July - and V was having some).

Then put in pumpkin and 3 1/2 cups of veg stock (it says nuttelex because again, they paid for the ad but nobody's checking.)

I used to have containers of frozen stock in the deep freeze - and prior to that jars of stock vacuum sealed. Who is this woman with store bought stock?

So yes, put the lid on and put it in the oven. 1/2 an hour on the timer.

While that was happening, I needed to get together some vegan parmesan - again, V, but as I am pretty lactose intolerant these days, me too.

I had some cashew pieces, so reserving a handful I put the rest - a bit more than about a cup - in the whizzer and whizzed to powder. Then I chucked in some nutritional yeast - magic stuff! Maybe a few tablespoons? 

I also got 20 sage leaves from the garden and roughly chopped them and those reserved cashew pieces (the recipe had hazelnuts) and fried then in a little pan with 30g of the outcome of the earlier moral dilemma until crispy.

At the 30 minute ding, take the pan out of the oven. Put it on a heatproof surface (turned off stove works a treat) and remove the lid. 

Admire the fact that it's pretty well cooked to perfection. Then take another dollop of your fat of choice and a cup of previously slapped together vegan parmesan and mix through, squishing the pumpkin a bit. You can add a little water if you need a bit more glug.

Put the crispy sage, nuts and oil on top as a garnish and serve.

Verdict? Yum.

Good night.

Five photos

 Over the last fifteen days (in no particular order) (well, in the order that hopefully makes sense to some bot in blogger else it's mad)

Being the school holidays for the last two weeks and a specialist appointment for Dad, I have been going to work early, and one morning this coincided with a decent fog. I work across the road from a cemetery.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. I got all thinking that I perhaps had hidden talents as a modern art architect-y photographer, but turns out not unhidden, unbidden.

We are still in the market for a few key items of furniture. This cupboard will not be joining our household no matter how often it it enters my feed.

As I said when I shared this link on Facebook "Oh my freaking good-ness - deliciousness with a capital cious!!" - Link. When enticed to try, Paris' review was "eww no, tastes like felafel" so not everyone is a fan.

Yes G. It does need sorting.