festa

Timothy and Elisa have been non-stop cooking lately. It's such a welcome change in pace. Feel like a pampered fifties husband, coming home and knowing that a delicious dinner will be waiting for me. They started with melanzane alla parmigiana, and just kept on going with tiramisu, salame di cioccolato, gattò di patate, and some crazy rich, almost overly sweet nut cookie. My mind is telling me there are other things I can't recall at the moment, but I'm not worried about missing anything. Instead, I'm optimistic as to what is coming next! They've definitely set the bar pretty darn high for themselves.

Timothy is a very patient sous chef

Melanzane in the making

Of course dusting your nose with flour is vital!

Don't mind Benson's creepy face, the food was a triumph!

The salame di cioccolate, a perfect after dinner treat with coffee for our movie night last Sunday

The gattò, fairly unassuming from the outside...

...but filled with molten cheese and/or tomato sauce. Molto bene!

And a little dinner theater last night, Justin Bieber and Hannah Montana stopped by!

valentine's day

We had a pretty low key, lovely Valentine's Day around here. I got up early and made pancakes for my loves before they went off to school, then got down to the business of roasting sweet potatoes for gnocchi. Once they came out of the oven, it was on to a tres leches cake. Or two, actually. And once those were out of the oven and had soaked up all the milky goodness they could hold, it was grating (we don't have a ricer), blending, rolling and cutting time for the gnocchi. Such a meditative, fun, hands-on process and so worth all the effort. We had the gnocchi very simply prepared, with just olive oil and some special parmesan, and then Sarah took me, Timothy and Elisa out for a drink at a fabulous pub/restaurant out in the boonies. And that was great, too. The cakes were devoured for breakfast the next day, and it makes my heart feel so full to know that this odd confection from Mexico went over so well with everyone here. Timothy must have eaten at least a whole one by himself, he loved it so! And now we know- if there's spare time and a desire for something sweet, tres leches it is. Hope you all had a sublime day and felt the love as much as I did!

Soooooo many gnocchi! 

One of the cakes, ready to disappear

With Timothy and Elisa at the Radio Springs Hotel. Excuse the creepily glowing eyes, must have been the strong drinks, or the bad phone camera ;)

questo e quello

A beautiful pastry from our departed German WWOOFers, Ina and Tabea. Giving me the baking itch!

Love stopping to watch all the bees on this tree on my way to town

The main street in town is freshly paved. Molto bene! 

A hopeful message on a building in a back alley in town

Went for a twilight walk last night, and by the time I was heading back up the hill, it was full dark and a wedding was raging at the Convent Gallery. Great music, an open gate, and nothing to lose led to me joining the fun on the dance floor for a few songs then sneaking back out. Just what I needed!

questo e quello

Not many this time around, just one from before I was stricken sick, and one from this afternoon, when I finally started feeling like the haze around me was dissolving. But happy memories nonetheless!

Elisa and I attempting a start at moving four cubic meters of fresh dirt into a garden bed. Girls can do hard labor, yes indeed!

Some dramatic clouds rolling in on a cool breeze this afternoon (and a beautiful Jacob's ladder), after a blistering hot day

ciao!

Timothy is back in Daylesford for a while (and brought his lovely girlfriend Elisa along)! We couldn't be happier. And the beautiful old cars parked in town couldn't have asked for a better set of models to show off their charms. Happy day!

daytrip

Leilani, Tamlyn and I 

Went into Melbourne last week with friend Rina, two of her kids, and met up with her sister, brother-in-law and adorable niece for a trip to the aquarium. It was a great tourist-y adventure, and when we were all through gazing at the beautiful creatures, I took Rina and Leilani to the much-lauded graffiti alley. A slow wander through there, then a stop at infamous pub Young & Jackson for a beer, some sodas and snacks. Missed our first train, filled the hour waiting for the next one with an impromptu sushi picnic, then stopped at Sailor's Falls on our drive back to Daylesford, and ended up having another, lengthy picnic at Tipperary. Beer, Schweppe's, chips, a gorgeous sunset, laughing kookaburras in the trees, it was magical. The sun was still shining strong when we arrived, and by the time we left our eyes had adjusted to the dark and it was nearly ten o'clock! Love warm summer days and nights spent going with the flow and just doing whatever makes you happy in the moment. We had no timetable to keep, no expectations, and the day was all the better for that. Hoping for lots more of these lazy days and diversions with friends.

Elephant sharks. A Melbourne local

Crocodile eggs

Where's the food??

Told you I love my new necklace!

Having some fun with Rina

Flinders Station ready for Christmas

Sailor's Falls

With Leilani and Rina at Tipperary

We did lots of cloud gazing

And admired Rina's shellac!

Selfie time!

And to those interested/worried: I'm feeling much better today. Food still doesn't hold much interest, but no fainting! Two German WWOOFers arrived this afternoon, and looking forward to doing some low-key garden work with them tomorrow. Guten abend!