Just a post

G'Day,
I was thinking, why do I have to have a reason to put something in here. I have got off the track lately. Lost the original idea and have been only writing to prompt sites.That isn't what it is all about. It is about writing what I bloody well want to write.
So today I am writing just because I want. Not to mention the fact that there is rubbish on television, as always , very little to interest me. Would you believe that the best thing on is a children's movie? Just about all the other stations are showing election results because in my neighboring state of New South Wales there was a state election held today. I couldn't be bothered with speculating the result before all of the votes are counted. Bad Australian maybe? Politics = BLAH to me.
Today I took Mum to the mall in Tuggeranong to get some warm clothes as it is beginning to cool down here and I wanted some thicker things for her to layer on during the day. She sits on the lounge and gets cold and I don't want to start switching on the heater so early in the season, so ....more clothes are in order. ' Ahhh here we get back to politics, a subject abhorrent to me. A few years back the govt privatized our power companies and we will now be heading into territory where we can't afford the exorbitantly rising costs of electricity that we silly modern humans rely on so dearly to run our houses and lives. Before we moved to this house our winter electricity and gas bill for the season came to $1700 OUCH. The prices have risen since then and we have not spent a winter in this house yet so....scary. I know there are a lot of people in this city, and indeed others in the other areas of Australia who have a lower income that us and are struggling financially. Bloody Politicians. Do ya job for these suckers you mongrels. Did I say I hate politics. Hmmm. Then there is the cost of housing, another item that is getting to be beyond working and middle class grasp. I was wondering where this post would lead me, were you?
Let me change the subject. I don't like the previous one.
My garden is winding down as we move into Autumn. Yesterday I pulled out the cucumbers which are well and truly finished for the season. There was just one last cucumber on the vine which now resides in my fridge. They did so well in this good soil here, we gave away and threw away more than we ate of them. I made a batch of spiced bread and butter cucmbers and bottled them that turned out nice. The fig tree still has ripening fruit on it. They have been wasting too because there has been heaps if fruit and we are a bit sick of them. I did make up a big pot of jam from them that will last quite a while. I even ran out of bottles to put it in and started filling up all the plastic containers to keep it. Mum loves my jam and we are now on the second container. I gave some away. Took it to my Thursday pottery group with a batch of scones and one of the ladies (Margaret) emptied it into her container and took it home.
The tomatoes still have quite a few fruits left on them which I don't think are going to ripen this late in the season, plus the fruit fly have discovered them and stung them. Nasty little critters taking my tomatoes. The tiny tomatoes have been especially sweet and prolific, we have cooked and frozen several lots as well as used them to make sauces to accompany our evening meals.
The big grape arbour at the back of the house is covered in small black grapes, the man who planted them made his own wine so they are not really the type that are great for table eating. They are all ripe and although I have offered them to people nobody seems to want them . The big fruit bats have discovered them and they can have them, the bats have also been in the fig tree. That's OK, they have got to feed some where don't they. What is left is surplus to us.
Years ago I went to a fair/ market in Tumut and bought some beautiful butter nut pumpkins from an old man there. I was admiring them and he gave me some seeds to plant. I did plant them in the Junee garden and they never came up. I planted them here and they went mad. I have the best big pumpkins ever. Amazing that the seed was still viable after so long. I have used one of them already. Just last week the vines were still setting new fruits, but I am not sure if they will ripen enough before the cold weather sets in and anyway I already have heaps. Pumpkin soup coming up for winter. I make mine with onion and bacon in it then put a blob of sour cream on the top to serve it.
We planted two types of beans. The climbing ones and the dwarf bush one. The climbing ones I was not impressed with they were nice flavored but not as many beans and stringy. The dwarf beans were great. Very prolific and we even planted a second crop. I am just about finished with those now. It seemed that each time it rained and I fertilized them they flowered again and we got another lot of beans off them. Also planted silver beet which was good because I can leave it in the ground and over winter. The capsicums were a success too. The little yellow pointy ones were the best croppers out of the mixed punnet that was planted. The beetroot I wasn't impressed with. There was a great crop of basil and I have kept some of the seed to replant next year when it warms up again.
I have recently planted a few things that like the cooler weather. Some leeks, spring onions, dwarf peas, broccoli and coriander are in and look good for the near future. Must get some curly parsley going next.
The beautiful pears espaliered along the back fence were very nice, but the insects have damaged them now. The only ones that are left are the brown pears and when you cut them they have larvae in them, note to me, get out there and destroy them tomorrow. I do like this yard.
I went to a farmers market just down the road from here at the CIT college on Sunday mornings. They have great produce and I have decided I will get most of my vegetables from there from now on rather than the supermarkets. Lots of yummy stuff and my money goes straight to the producer instead of a multi-national company. Much better. I bought some nice purple organic garlic from there too and have planted a row of garlic cloves at the back of the garden beds.
There are some of my wafflings. Probably won't be of interest to any one but me and I can look back on them in a years time and compare next seasons efforts in the garden. And..... my electricity bills.
Bye.
LoveLinda.