Fremantle Reflection

Jane lives near Fremantle. After a long sit at Little Creatures and a few of their lovely Pale Ales and lots of delicious food, we went for a stroll along the water. There we are reflected in the McDonalds window.

My first visit to Fremantle was in 1999 when Jane lived about a street away from this part of the world. My kids and I spent two weeks here. The beachfront here has altered. At that time my kids went to the little building on the beach on the right in this photo below and had some art lessons. They loved it.

I didn't recognise the view at first with the big modern building. I vaguely recall being told it was a Museum.

There is a lot of development going on in that part of the world. It's a shame to see the coastline getting built up with housing. I guess for the people who will live there, it will be great.

We drove past Sam's school and it's a great space. It sounds like there are some good people there too. Sam seems really fond of his integration aide and some of his teachers, which is good. I wish he was at my school, but the grounds at the school he attends are awesome.

I visited the Freo Market, mainly to check out the mosaics I remembered from my last visit. I wanted to take photo's, but the sign said 'No Photos', so I chatted to the nice man and he gave me a few tips, which I know will help a lot and a nice postcard with their website: mosaicart, there are some great photos and links to other artists on the site. Nice story too!

I love my time with Jane. This was my fourth trip to WA. I would be happy to just sit at her kitchen table and drink coffee until it was a respectable time to have red or a beer. She is one of the few people I drink with. She is such a creative soul, her home is always beautiful and interesting and I always enjoy seeing the magic she creates in her space. We have been friends for such a long time and know each others history. It is very comfortable.

Asha's Birthday and The Camels Hump

Asha has had a great birthday. I have just got off the phone to her. It's weird not seeing her on the day. I enjoyed the afternoon I spent with her yesterday. I have taught her well about birthdays and hers is being spread over a couple of days. Today, on the day, she has spent with her boyfriend and close mates enjoying a variety of pleasures. Her boyfriend filled a room with ballons to 'wrap' her gift. She had fun with that! Tomorrow night she is having a party with her friends.

She works at a new coffee shop, whilst attending Uni. I called in after we went for dinner last night, with the intention of meeting and thanking her boss and co-worker for the great care they take of her. She often talks about the lovely things they have done for her. They have been very sweet to her whilst she has been working there and it's reassuring for me when she lives away.


She did describe how good it was to me, but to be honest I was expecting some kind of trendy place that wouldn't really appeal to me. I have to share with you all the ambience, coffee and cake of this place! Where do I start?


The atmosphere is warm and very comfortable and cosy. Soft lighting, variety of fabrics and textures and all with a rosy glow and clean. I immediately wanted all my closest dearest friends to be with us and to spend a few hours there kicking back. It has comfy couches with cushions. It feels very much like home with the secluded partitioned spaces to nestle into. A home where someone else would be bringing the coffee and doing the dishes!


On arrival, the water and chocolate covered coffee beans were enough to indicate this was going to be a delicious and well thought out experience. There was a slight hint of lemon and orange juice in the water, it refreshed my mouth in preparation for what was to come. It was the right temperature too, I dislike chilly water.


The cake I had, 'Sultan's Citrus Tart', was great. I wanted to bring some home for Rhonda. It is our favourite so I have many to compere it with, and can be ordered in the slim version, which was abundance for me. It melted in my mouth, the presentation was attractive and it was just yummy.


The coffee I have saved for last because it was just the best coffee. It was perfect coffee. It was pretty and the crockery was cool. My mouth felt at ease after I had finished, apart from the desire for more. I had the Jamacian Blue Mountain, as recommended by my previously non coffee drinking daughter.


So apart from being really good people who work there, which is usually enough for me, everything else rises to the occasion to make it something out of the ordinary and wonderful. I wish it was around the corner, yet the 2 hour drive will probably save me from gaining a lot of weight. I don't think I will ever be able to drive past it again, without stopping for some more of that. I intend to work my way through the menu!


Some others who are not related to the waitress have reviewed it, so I will add the links for those who suspect my alliegances:


IronEaters:The Camels Hump
My Journey: Camel Hump

The Camels Hump Website (has details of menu and how to find it, when it's open etc)

Mum's Cooking

The cool change has made us all tired and hungry. This morning at work people were ravenous and heading off to all directions to chow down. I ate lunch about an hour early myself. I'm sure the chocolate fundraiser sales in the staff room went through the roof.


My wonderful mum is cooking at my place lately because they are having their kitchen renovated. Tonight she made a roast and I arrived home from work to the divine smell of roasting meat and veges. It was heavenly.

There is just nothing like your mum's cooking. My son refuses to eat potatoes, yet will eat my mum's, even mashed! On occasion I have managed to get a roasted potato into him, but never a mashed one. I am his mum, so I wonder if he will ever come to relish my cooking as much. To be honest, as a kid I didn't appreciate the goodness of it.

The tradespeople were coming this morning to install it, so long as it wasn't raining. When I woke up today and saw the rain, I must admit I thought, the delay to their new kitchen would mean more of mum's cooking for me. Selfish aren't I? It wasn't wet enough though, so they went ahead. I'd say by the weekend this lovely time of having dinner cooked for me each night will be over!

Anyone else need to use a kitchen whilst they renovate theirs? I don't eat much.

The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris

Chocolat
The sequel to 'Chocolat', a long time favourite of mine, 'The Lollipop Shoes', is every bit as delicious as the original. I felt I could smell the chocolate and taste the sumptuousness of the feast described. It is just a pleasure to read.

Fairy Tales
Woven into this story are fairy tales told to Vianne by her mother and the theme as I have previously mentioned of the 'Red Shoes' and the allure of glamour and brightness when life is glum. There are other fairy tales throughout this novel in various forms. I love the imagery and the retelling.
Celebrating Life and Love
This is a story about the value of love and the awakening of living to the fullness. It has all the magic of the first novel, culminating in the mouth watering feast that decides the fates of the central characters. The administering of sweetness to the random and forlorn characters that frequent the shop, highlights how lonely and loveless strangers can create a warm circle of friends.
Shadows
The villain in this novel is not the church but a dark magician who appears so like Vianne, yet intends evil. The bad witch who sees this loveless reality

"....by then we'll all be sand, except for the One who has always been; the one that builds pyramids;raises temples; makes martyrs; composes sublime music; denies logic; praises the meek; receives souls into Paradise; dictates what to wear; smites the infidel; paints the Sistine Chapel; urges young men to die for the cause; blows up bandsmen by remote control;
promises much; delivers little; fears no one and never dies,
because fear of Death is so much greater than honour, or goodness, or faith, or love...."(p448)

frightens me more than the previous villain in Chocolat. The manipulative woman who entices and lures the teen to turn her power to satisfy lust and manipulate others is scary.

I wish I still had it to read and I'm going to check ebay for another Joanne Harris book as she is a writer that never fails to lure me into her story in an enticing way.

Sunday dinner & 'The Secret'

Last night we had our family Sunday dinner thing, that I have insisted upon since the midyear holidays. I was away at Loch Sport and I did a tonne of reading in the Personal Growth category. I took a few podcasts and generally had a big revision of my life, as I am inclined to do fairly regularly, anyway, the big thing, that I felt I was unhappy about was the lack of time I spend with my kids. I know it is natural for them to be out and about being teenagers, but I missed them. I already have to share them with their dad and now with their friends and part-time jobs added to that, it seemed I was just squeezing in the occasional nag about the mess in their rooms.
So whilst I was away I decided that I would back off with the nagging and let go of expected them to be home all the time, but in exchange for that they would both have to promise to be home for dinner on Sunday nights. We would eat together, at the dinner table, a good meal and catch up. I love Sunday nights now. Previously they had simply been a last clutch of the weekend, but now I plan a great meal, we set the table and enjoy each others company.
After dinner we sometimes watch a movie and once we played the DVD game my brother gave us for Christmas last year. It was great fun. Anyway, I'm sure you can see where this is heading.. Last night I forced them to watch 'The Secret'. They all complained and doubted and thought they would end up having to buy something. Afterwards, they all said they enjoyed it and that it was good. Regardless of their experience of it, I enjoyed it a lot more watching it for the second time. I noticed a few more things and I think I will watch it regularly to remind myself. Thoughts are Things.

Eyespot's fun

Had coffee with Asha yesterday and the best lemon meringue pie in Traralgon from PJ's. Asha had a white hot chocolate. I am glad we went there, haven't been there for ages and it was divine! The sculpture they have in there next to the comfy couch we sat on is in my little clip I am sharing with you.
Tom went off on his trip to QLD with his dad. I miss him already!
Yesterday I played around with Eyespot. It was great fun. I made this little clip:

I like it!

I watched a couple of movies. Nothing worth mentioning, purely entertaining and forgettable, action and adventure.
I am reading a Gary Crew book at present, an older one called "No Such Country". It has archeology in it so I love it. It's also a bit scary and because it's a kid's book, I'm hoping I'll cope with that. I am teaching history to the 7s and 8s this term so I am all passionate about archeology and history. I'm gathering a pile of great books for the holidays and I can see it in sight so I'm feeling good about that.

Trips to Melbourne

I haven't posted for nearly a week. It's been a busy six days since my last post. We had to rush to Melbourne last Thursday for a last minute health issue. All is well now though, so that is good. Today I went on the museum trip to the city with the school. I went to IMAX for the first time! It was a HUGE screen. I will put some photo's up of the trip later when I am not so tired and can find my camera.

Whilst waiting we visited Dandenong and I must recommend to anyone who can access it, the Op shop in the main street that sells books only. It is towards the end of the strip heading for Melbourne. It gets books from the surrounding libraries and there were heaps of books in great condition, very cheaply priced. I could have spent more time there. There was also a great Lebanese bakery that had a great feel and yummy food in the same stretch of shops though more toward the Gippsland end of Dandenong.

If you regularly read my blog, you will notice a new look and tags. I would love to go back and tag all my previous posts but think it may be too time consuming. It would be interesting just to see what I mainly write about! I will possibly play around with it more. Blogger has introduced more options, so naturally I can't resist.

Today I left my book at home by mistake, but whilst going through my back pack found another book and read it all today. It was No Worries by Bill Condon. I enjoyed it. It was quite insightful and I was moved by the plight of the young male protagonist. It was an honour book for the Childrens Book Council Australia, book of the year awards for older readers.

Gado Gado

When I was a kid, I would have wonderful holidays with my Auntie Angela and Uncle Jack in Drouin East. They had 9 kids, although probably less for most of my memories as I was the same age as their eldest child. They were my godparents and were the epitome of godparents as I adored them and loved being in their company.
Uncle Jack was Dutch and had spent his childhood in Indonesia during the war and Angela had lots of exotic (to us) foods as a result of these influences.
I have a memory of a special meal we had of Gado Gado with Kerupuk or (crook cooks) as we called them. The large table was laden with this delicious food and we sat around the deep fryer counting as the hard colorful peices rose out into crunchy prawn crackers, as I know them now.
Last night for the first time, I made Gado Gado. We had a special visitor coming who was vegetarian, and Andy spent a lot of time in Indonesia when he was younger, so I felt it was appropriate. It was great and brought back wonderful memories for me also. I was quite relieved that he recognised it as I put it together mostly from memory.
I was amazed that I remembered and recognised all the ingredients when I went to the supermarket to find the parts. As it drew closer to putting it together I remembered the Internet and looked up the recipe and verified my memory. I was quite pleased by the whole experience.
I didn't use potato and substituted snow peas for beans but it was very yummy. For desert I resorted to nana's Jam Roly Poly, which I will save for another day.

Yummy

I am reading another book by Joanne Harris "Five Quarters of the Orange". I loved "Chocolat". The book was sensational as well as the film. The current read is terrific also. I find her books talk about food in a very delicious way. They inspire me to be mindful about cooking. Does it have this effect on anyone else?
Speaking about mindfulness about food, in Victoria there is 'Australia's largest slow food festival' happening at the end of this month. 'A Taste of Slow' , doesn't it sound amazing. What could be better?
Joanne Harris's website lists 11 books she has written. I am not sure why I haven't devoured them all yet, but I certainly intend to. Make sure you read the about the author link for a smile.

The Abbey

Today I spent the afternoon with my good friend Jane. One of the things we discussed, was entering the ABC reality show things called 'The Abbey'. It seemed like a good idea. When I got home tonight and checked Mystic Medusa's blog for a bit of insight into why my electricity is failing me, she had mentioned it so I saw it as a sign and emailed the application to Jane.
Jane bought me another one of those delicious mouse things that I have previously photographed and put on this blog, so will resist doing so again. I wanted to enjoy it with a coffee, but the electric kettle and electric stove are holding me back from this right now.
NOT FAIR! is about all I can manage because I have the flu. STILL!!
I am not sure why my power is failing me, but I can say that I am tired and cranky and I want to make myself a coffee but it seems the only thing I can turn on in the house right now, without taking out the entire home's power is my laptop and fluorescent light. This is a sign I think for me to retire to bed and worry about it in the morning.

I am Me by Virginia Satir

Today I am going to share 'I am Me' with some students because last night I dreamt about it. I remembered when I was at the Neighbourhood house and I put the poem up on the toilet wall and so many people commented to me that it made them feel good. I had forgot about it. I have been wondering how to improve some students self esteem. Last night I dreamt about that peice of writing and today I am going to act on that message and share it with them.
I am tired. There are only two days of school to go. We have parent teacher interviews tonight and a big school assembley today. My daughter is going to be assisting to run the school assembley so I am nervous for her and I hope it all goes well. She has high standards and expectations, which are admirable. I am looking forward to it and hoping for her that she is pleased with her results.
Last night we went out for dinner. I haven't been out for dinner for a long time and the food was divine. We went to Neilsons in Traralgon and it was the most enjoyable meal out. The company was great too. Women I work with and see every day, yet we are always in a rush, so it was lovely to share leisurely and relaxed time with them.
On to the day!

Transformation

I received a free tarot reading for mothers day this morning. I rushed through it and noticed of all the cards that I got the Death card. It is so appropriate for me right now. I have had a seriously busy week and lots of things have happened around me that I won't go into because they are mostly other people's stories and not mine to tell. I'll just say that some of my closest friends have been through harsh times. It hurts to see people you love hurt. I feel changed.
I got an email from another Tarot site that I used to read about the Death card meaning transformation. I guess it was there to insist even if I had been too rushed this morning to register it in the reading. I got it.
I have made some decisions about small changes I am going to instigate in my life.
My long time and treasured friend, Jane bought me this gorgeous treat from the bakery as a gift for a small favour I did and I couldn't possibly eat it without photographing it. The anticipation and visual deliciousness of it deserves sharing. I'll let you know if the taste measures up!