The Nursery and a roast chicken

You know you are getting to the pointy end of it all when you start setting up the nursery. Here we are, with four weeks to go (or so. Can't predict how these things are going to go!), and finally the nursery is set up.

The new stuff is unpacked, the (gratefully received) gifts from generations past cleaned, and everything is just about ready to receive the new lord and master (mistress) of the house.

So- see below some of the photographs of the preparations thus far.

The cot that Jane slept in as a baby (absolutely decades ago!!!), with the playmat given to us by Melissa

 

We are planning on baby being a reader!

The Chest of drawers we made. Painted in the same colours as the canvases as we can't paint the rooms.

The 'Nappy cake' made for Jane by her work mates

So lucky- another gift from friends. Apparently Jane will be able to hear this one from work, as we are so close!

 

Sparrow's first back pack. It's going to be the cutest kid!

Sparrow's first teddy- Made by Nanny Mary. Note the crochet blanket in front- originally made by Sparrow's great-great grandmother. Nothing lasts like good kiwi wool!

Now for the chicken- We had Pat and Bec over for lunch today, and cooked a roast chicken. It was so nice to have a Sunday roast! I decided to brine the chicken, never having done so before. I was amazed at the result. Simply spectacular. The chicken was moist and full of flavour. The recipe is super simple as well- Bring 4 litres of water to the boil and dissolve 225 gm salt and 125 gm sugar. Also add aromatics (chopped onion, garlic, bay leaves, pepper corns, thyme and rosemary). Let the brine cool, and then submerge the chicken in the liquid. Leave the chicken in the liquid for 8-12 hours, and then drain. Leave the chicken uncovered in the fridge on a rack for a further 3-4 hours to develop a 'pellicle', or tacky skin. I cooked the bird (stuffed) at 180 deg Celsius for 90 minutes and then let it rest for half an hour before carving. Just a shame we didn't cook two, as now I don't have any left for lunch this week.

So- Nursery sorted, still have three chooks in our back yard, and Sparrow is just rounding the last corner and heading for the home stretch. 

A post for March

This is just a general update, with a few recent photographs.

We now have five weeks to go until our lives are completely changed and enriched with the arrival of Sparrow. Of course that time frame is dependent on so many variables, not least of which will be the desire of Sparrow to wait until the bulk of the wet season (and accompanying humidity) has passed for the year.

How our lives are going to look in the very near future!

This has been a busy weekend. Jane was guest of honour at a baby shower hosted by Jo, while I pulled on my polyester uniform to march through Charters Towers for a couple of kilometres, exercising our right to freedom of entry to the city. I was buggered on Sunday, and may have had a wee kip on the recliner…

Jane about to spit the dummy at her Baby shower

 We were going to go out to dinner with a few friends on Saturday night, but couldn’t get into the restaurants we wanted, so I invited everyone to our place for pizza and pasta. It also worked well for Jane- She is starting to swell in the heat and humidity, so being able to stay at home was a godsend. And she could watch the brumbies… It would have been nice if they could have obliged with a win, but thems the breaks…

Melissa (Jane’s bestie) flew up from Canberra for a very quick overnight visit and had a great time with Jane. She can come and stay any time- very good at doing the dishes!!!

Meliss- Not too sure about cuddling chickens though- apparently they shit...

We ate Pizza- 1. Potato, bacon, garlic and rosemary, 2. Margherita, 3. Tomato, salami and olive.

I made fresh pasta, and we served it with a carbonara and puttanesca sauce.

For dessert, I made chocolate cups, and served a rich chocolate mousse with caramel popcorn, and minted raspberries.

It was a good fun night. The good dining table is starting to get a few runs on the board now, and it is really nice to be able to use it.

Just proving that it doesn't always rain up here. Even if it does feel a lot like it!!

For long term readers, you will know we have chooks. Over Christmas while we were away, our neighbours sent us a message to tell us that one of our chickens had escaped. They were most upset, and offered to buy more- These things happen though, and I did ask them what they did with the feathers… Well, we lost ‘Repeckah’, and she never did come back. We have replaced her with two more chooks, who are as mad as ‘Princess Layer’. We have ‘Kimbah’ (the white chicken- she has knock knees, and looks as if she is going to fall over every time she runs), and ‘Attila the Hen’. She is mad, and angry. The birds are on short notice at the moment. Being on the moult, they aren’t producing as many eggs as they could, and Jane will occasionally walk out to their pen with a stockpot. They seem to get the message…

Crazy Chickens. Happy in their lunacy!

Attila and the Princess, peeking out through a very professional gate. Dad would be so proud!

They have done great things with our one small patch of dirt however. Last year we tried to plant herbs in the small garden we do have, but everything died. The chickens have scratched it up, and fertilised it regularly, and now what we plant just romps away. It is so nice to be able to pick fresh herbs when we want them.

Tomatoes, basil, rosemary and other herbs. Note the fence is still down. Herbs going gangbusters though!

As far as nursery photographs are concerned- they are coming. We are just waiting until I can finish the chest of drawers for Sparrow. I put the first coats of paint on tonight, and will do the second tomorrow.

The Chest of Drawers

The cutest teddy bear handles...

Eureka- The drawers fit, and run!