Hooray for Winter

 Winter in our home means wood fires, cups of tea and comfort food. 

Autumn brought rain and we are thankful for every drop. Our tanks are filling, the crops are pushing upwards and the pasture paddocks are green.

 As lovely as it would be to hibernate in front of the wood fires, drinking endless cups of tea, our work goes on. 

 Chicken processing over two weekends has filled our freezers to capacity.

Nothing was wasted. These giblets and hearts will be added to chicken bone broth and vegetable soup.

The outdoor kitchen is still a work in progress, but there has been significant headway made. The light-fittings and power points were wired in yesterday and we couldn't wait to try the lights last night.  I snapped this photo from inside while standing at the kitchen sink. 

The old stove is finally bricked in place. The plaster board is all up and undercoated. Fitting the fireplace flu and roof capping is Brian's project tomorrow while I prepare the recycled timber floorboards for the bench tops. We have tried to use as many materials as we could recycle  and have found some discarded tiles that will be perfect for the splash back. 

Brian has taken two weeks of annual leave so we hope to complete this project before he returns to work.  It seems to have dragged on and on, but in all fairness, there have been so many other things going on that have required Brian's immediate attention. And not forgetting that he works full time, allowing only weekends to work on farm and animal maintenance and other projects.

Low food miles -  Spicy Indian Chicken made entirely from our small patch, except the rice of course. 

I've been busy in the garden, tidying up, cutting back and planting new water-wise plants that will  have a better chance of survival during our next hot and dry summer. I believe that we need to face up to these dryer and hotter conditions and adapt our gardens to cope with less water use.  

All of my plans to write every day have gone by the wayside as I try to catch up on maintenance around the farm and house that were the least of priorities during the demanding summer months. Now the inside kitchen needs a fresh coat of paint and some cracks plastered as soon as we can finish the outdoor kitchen. 

It never ends.
I've also been reading, (when it's too dark to be outside), Liane Moriarty "What Alice Forgot" is on my bedside table at present. I think she has become one of my new favourite Australian fiction writers.
And when working in the kitchen I'm listening to podcasts. 
Today's listening was one of my favourites - "Long Distance Call".
Geraldine Doogue - ABC broadcaster- and her daughter Eliza Harvey, who lives in Beirut, Lebanon, with her husband  Adam Harvey- ABC reporter- podcast their weekly skype conversations.
Do you listen to podcasts? What are your favourites? 

Late night blogging and I'm about to turn into a pumpkin.

Thanks for dropping in, thanks for making it through to the end.  I appreciate that you did more than I can say, and I'd be tickled pink if you left a tiny comment.

XXX Sally