… in which MacK goes fishing, and has his first third birthday!

My workplace is pretty good on the family front, and they try to include activities for families when they can. One of those is a family fishing day. There is a small lake at work in which they release a whole lot of fish (this year it was 250 rainbow trout) for families to have a crack at. MacK, Jane and I went over with great aspirations. Jane wasn't prepared to have a cast, as she has apparently retired from fishing.

She has fished twice, caught a fish each time, and has now retired with a 100% strike rate. My strike rate is also 100% - but I have never landed a fish. This expedition was no different. I caught a fish (with witnesses to prove it), but it slipped the hook just as I was about to land it.

They say that if you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, and if you teach him to fish you feed him for life. I like the analogy, but for me if you teach me to fish, I end up vegetarian! MacK and I thought our pace was better suited to the canoes.

Yesterday Jane and I went to see the ADF sponsored play "The Long Way Home", about our current generation of returned veterans and the struggles they have adjusting back into life in Australia. The play is extremely confronting, and every vignette in the play is based on real time experiences. There is a cast of 17, of which 13 are serving soldiers. This is an incredibly raw piece of live theatre, and I would urge you to see it if you possibly can. At the time of writing, there are only performances scheduled for Adelaide and Perth. I sincerely hope that there is a future plan for this production, as its theme is far too important to just let go.

MacK turns three on Wednesday, so our plan was to have a morning tea this morning for a few local people, before heading to Canberra next weekend for his party proper. Our plans were scuppered when MacK woke us a little after two this morning with a bed full of vomit. When Jane called the other families to cancel, they were all also in a bad way. We have had a quiet day indoors (not hard as the weather hasn't let up all day), and MacK enjoyed his cake with a very quiet morning tea! We will have to make sure he has a good day next Saturday.

The first of this year's cakes was a penguin - Nailed it, I reckon!!!

Our first Woolstock!

Woolstock – a private music festival held each year on our farm. It started in 1996, when one of our neighbours (Wooly) left the big smoke and moved to the country. He had played in bands in Sydney, and missed it when he left, so started the annual “Woolstock”. A bunch of bands and musos get together over a weekend each March, and play great music for the whole weekend. They have a percussion frenzy at sunset, where all those present farewell the days light in a crescendo of sound.

This was our first Woolstock. We hired a caravan from work, and drove up to the farm on the Friday evening. By the time we arrived, they were wrapping up the rehearsals, and settling in to a beer around the fire.

Our home away from home, with my outdoor kitchen!

On Saturday morning, MacK and I took a walk down to the farm to give Jane a sleep in, and then we breakfasted with everybody who had come early. There were tents and caravans all over the home blocks, and the set up of the stage area was brilliant. It was set up on our house block, where it has been for the last couple of years, and even had the ‘Bohemian Chai Lounge’, where we served food on Saturday evening.

One Bohemian Chai Lounge, sans Bohemians...

There is a real focus on children, and there was a massive sandpit set up for kids to play in. Our contribution to the meal for the evening was a big pot of baked beans, with smoked ham hock. Other offerings included a beautiful chicken cacciatore, mushroom curry, popcorn and chai.

MacK in the sand...

The music started at about 5:00pm with a 15 year old guitarist/vocalist who has played the last couple of years. He was a great talent, but only the start for the evening. The theme for the evening was Elvis, and there were plenty of lookalikes – some better than others!!!

For me, the standout act for the night was Veronica. She was a WWOOFer (Willing Worker on Organic Farms) on the farm a couple of months ago, and has an incredible voice. Last year, Jane and I had the pleasure and privilege of attending one of Leonard Cohen’s last ever concerts. Cohen is one of my favourite artists, and Veronica sang one of his signature tunes – Hallelujah. I love the original, but her rendition was every bit as good.

MacK ready for a percussion frenzy

MacK, Ljuba and I enjoying the show. At this point I think we were in France (with our red wine), having started with a very local fizz and a wine from Orange. Good night had by all! 

We had about 150 people camping out on the farm, and the music finished up at about 2:30 am. We had heard about Woolstock over the last couple of years, and were at risk of having built up the festival to unrealistic levels. As it turned out, it was one of the most enjoyable nights we have had. The festival was brilliant, and will definitely be on our must do list for years into the future.

As a footnote, I got to tick another item off my bucket list, in that I got to participate in a wine crush. Sam from Rosnay wines had a tonne of grapes that he is turning into a ‘garage wine’. I got to shift all the grapes, and had a great morning!

A degustation disappointment

A couple of weeks ago, we drove to Sydney via Canberra to partake in a nine course degustation dinner after Clare was offered a great voucher deal. The total drive time was a little over seven hours each way, but the offer was worth it. We left MacK with Peter and Phyl in Canberra, and he had a blast over the weekend.

Sydney was busy, as we had inadvertently booked on the same day as the Mardi Gras festival. We made our way to our accommodation, and frocked up (have to when heading out to a fancy dinner!). We met Clare and Leigh at their accommodation and had a pre dinner drink prior to walking up to the Restaurant.

Hungry (well prepared for a degustation…) and a little excited, we strolled up the hill to the restaurant, to see a notice in the window advising that the landlord had taken possession of the restaurant, and anybody on the premises would be met with police action. 

Now, we had paid for the dinner, and had received email confirmation! Needless to say, we were more than a little miffed!

Finding an alternate venue on Mardi Gras Saturday was always going to be a struggle, but we eventually walked into a small bistro on McLeay St (McLeay St Bistro) that could take us. The staff were great, and we soon forgot where we were supposed to be! Jane and I had a feta, tomato and caramelised onion tart with Asparagus salad to start with, and I had a grilled organic chicken breast with tarragon jus for a main course. The food was simple, but exceptionally well done, and the staff were fantastic. 

Clare nearly slapped the hand of the waiter for daring to try to remove her champagne flute (good thing she didn't, as he is from Sicily!), and had a beautifully tender and superbly cooked eye fillet. We had a couple of bottles of good wine, and may have had a shot or two of Limoncello as a digestif to close the night out.

Despite the disappointment of the restaurant closure (without notification), we had a great night. It reminded us again that the key to any night out is the people. The company at the table was fantastic, and the staff at the bistro were just brilliant. McLeay St Bistro would be a must stop visit whenever in Sydney… Just hope for your sake they have a little Limoncello left!

Feb 14 - the mash up

So, again I find us busy, and not able to write as regularly as I would like. This time, the busy-ness has not come from work (very nice), but our ability to take advantage of our proximity to some pretty cool places! Just means we have to drive to get there…

It seems kind of strange, but we are happy to drive 4 hours (or more) each way just for a weekend. Any Australian readers will be thinking "so what", while readers from further afield (think NZ) will be thinking "are you nuts?"

Jane's last post had some of the pictures that MacK took at the Seymour show. At that show we also saw some other brilliant stuff, some of which has definitely given us ideas for the farm. There was a 'trufficulture' company who we will look to buy stone pine, hazels and oaks (all inoculated with the truffle spores) from, and I think we have found a stud supplier for rare breed pigs. One of the things we found truly amazing was the chainsaw carving. The carvers/artists were given a log, and obviously had an allotted time to come up with a masterpiece. Some of the pictures are below-

MacK also has a fixation with anything emergency services related. When he saw the CFA stand (with wooden fire engine), and the free fire helmets he was in heaven! Getting him away was eventually accomplished, but only with a couple of tears!

MacK modelling the funky new hat we found for him!

During the month, Jane also decided that MacK was more than old enough to start paying for his board,  so here he is, learning a work ethic at an early age!

I have had to travel to Melbourne a couple of times for dental treatment, and took Jane and Mack one day. While I was at the dentist, they went to the Collingwood Children's Farm. This is a fantastic working farm only a few kilometres from the city. It is in the original grounds of a convent (which is still next door, as a commercial space) and is a really incredible space to be so accessible to inner city kids. MacK loved the Berkshire pigs, the Anglo-Nubian goats (which is what we will have for milk, I am informed!) and all the poultry. If you saw the movie 'Babe', the decor and layout of the farm is reminiscent of the set. The shot below will give you an idea of what the farm looks like-

MacK feeding one of the goats

The farm planning is coming along well. in fact, we have now officially committed to the construction of a large shed and water tank on the house block. We would like to have the shed up by the end of May, and submitted the DA to council last Friday. We are almost there with the house plans, and decided we needed to get the final expert seal of approval before giving the go ahead to the draftsman!

We bought a trailer for the bikes a couple of months ago, and have had a few opportunities to get out on the road. The roads here in Wodonga are designed for cyclists, absolutely unlike Brisbane! I think we can probably ride for 30 km or so without getting off a purpose designed bike path. We don't go that far, but earn a weekend coffee/hot chocolate by cycling in. MacK loves to sit behind the bike, as long as we remember to pull the cover down so he doesn't get covered in gumph from the tires!

MacK helping me attach the trailer to the bike!