My Summer Holidays of F s:....Part 4

                                                      

Flowers
Gardens have burst into bloom after many years of drought and 

water  restrictions. There is much satisfaction gained from having one’s hands in the soil, watching the plants grow and respond to the seasons and picking the produce the garden provides. To me, gardening is green meditation. There has been a lot of meditating these holidays.

Fruit

With abundant flowers and water comes the fruit. Clearly I should have indulged in more fruit to diminish my flab. Unfortunately fruit and vegetables are predicted to become more expensive as their supply dwindles due to foul-weather and flood damage. A further challenge to my diet. 

To be continued……………..Part 5

My summer holiday of F’ s: continued ….Part 3

Floods 

Furious floods, flash floods, unrelenting floods ……….every where.

One of our nation's beloved poems by Dorethy MacKellar has temporarily lost its appeal.

…………..       I love a sunburnt country,


A land of sweeping plains,


Of ragged mountain ranges,


Of droughts and flooding rains.


I love her far horizons,


I love her jewel-sea,


Her beauty and her terror -
                  (a bloody understatement)

The wide brown land for me!   ………… 

Dorothea Mackellar
(1885 - 1968)


To be continued……………..Part 4

Hughes Creek in flood, Avenel
This is the bridge from which Ned Kelly jumped to save a fellow school mate from drowning

My summer holiday of F’ s: continued ……Part 2

Finish, Forward, File, Flick

study clutter

The 4 F’s, finish, forward, file, flick are the solution to banishing the chaos of clutter in one’s life. (see the blog “the New Cost of Time”) Like my weight,  my clutter has slowly returned to reside in unwanted places.  The study, wardrobe and vestibule and garage are so cluttered that they are non-functional. This does not auger well for the start of a new year. According to "Does this Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" I have lacked a vision which has impeded the effective implementations of Finish, Forward, File, Flick. The chaos is not about the stuff but apparently underlining issues which I have failed to identify and address. Sadly, I need a magic wand to right my wrongs before work recommences; however, I am starting to come to terms with the fact that I will be begining the new year under less than ideal conditions which will only change, with much reflection and effort over a prolonged period of time. Poop.

Foul-weather

This holiday season these words have to be as one. Tropical weather in temperate climate zones that has made the floor wet with moisture and out bodies in a constant state of glowing. And it has interfered with my holiday routine of getting my flab under control (see previous entry). The foul-weather has also brought floods.

To be continued……………..Part 3

A Summer Holiday of F’s………..

This is my holiday of F’ s: fowls, fat, finish, forward, file, flick, foul-weather, floods, flowers, fruit, French, friends, family, fun, fantasy, fotos and flicks. And I have a vision………….!

Fowls

La bonne vie

Fowls contentedly strutting amongst garden foliage, has resulted in a seasonal excess of eggs. Home made ice-cream (5 yolks) and pavlova (6 eggwhites) are a great solution for the egg glut, although not so fantastic on my waist -line. This brings me to my fat. 

Receipes

Instructions must be followed carefully. The ratio of sugar to egg whites in the pavlova and sugar to egg yolks in the ice-cream are critical.

Ice-cream: 

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/02/vanilla-ice-cream 

Pavlova : 

http://cakescookiesandanoddroastdinner.blogspot.com/2007/05/margaret-fultons-pavlova.html

Fat

Blue Moon, Sicily - heaven

Each year we take a family photograph around Christmas time. I know that I have gradually put on weight after a nasty foot fracture and a 9 months stint of Warfarin to dissolve the resulting DVTs. Nevertheless, I was quite confronted by my image when the Christmas shot was printed. Since then, I have tried to lose the excess blubber, to no avail. Our foul, uncharacteristically tropical, weather has discouraged my usual holiday exercise program so I am feeling quite fat, despondent and so desperate that I have purchased and read Peter Walsh's book "Does this Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" The title also reveals my other Achilles heal – clutter.

To be continued ………………..Part 2