April 2010
2 posts
WatchThis was 2009. A good year.
November 2009
2 posts
Om nom nom
The time is nigh… Now that the basil is coming good I plan on serving these with the aforementioned green herb, a sprinkling of sea salt and a glug of olive oil. I’m also going to eat one plain, so I can get a real sense of the flavour. I cannot wait!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelsea_russ/4121782364/
We also have a new addition to the Acreage - the gorgeous hydrangeas that my...
October 2009
6 posts
Berry, mark II
I’ve only grown one strawberry so far (despite having two plants), but I think number two may not be far away.
The first one was everything I hoped for from a fresh, homegrown strawberry; sweet and full of flavour. I may not be able to eat store bought now … though if my sub-par success with strawbs continues as it has, I may not have a choice. Nevertheless, I’m excited about...
Hungry Little Caterpillar, indeed
“I went on what the movie advertisements refer to as a roaring rampage of revenge. I roared. And I rampaged. And I got bloody satisfaction.”
Be warned caterpillars, I will go all The Bride on your green little butts. I found around 20 today, of many different sizes as well as, rather disconcertingly, one that had already created a cocoon, cheeky little bugger. This one was the biggest...
Progress
The first bunch of cherry tomatoes are growing to an impressive size. Just wish they’d ripen so I could have my first taste.
There are so many small bunches of marties now, I’ve lost count of them. And still more bunches of flowers turn up. Brilliant! I love this bunch, the tomatoes have started growing even though they haven’t ditched the flowers yet. Cute.
1 tag
The first blush
Welcome, darling little berry. You are undoubtedly the world’s ugliest, loveliest strawberry (this is your good side). I can’t wait to eat you.
Your siblings don’t seem to be doing so well. I don’t think they’re going to fruit. Tell me, do you need more fertiliser? Less water? More sun? I’d hate for you to grow up to be an only strawberry. Fill me in on what...
Tiny tomatoes
The first signs of success … and of a summer that will probably be remembered for its bounty of homegrown marties, if all continues to go this well.
1 tag
September 2009
10 posts
Celebratory bubbles
I’m drinking 14-year-old Krug while wearing trackie pants … ‘cause that’s the way I roll. Russ starts his new job tomorrow, which calls for a celebration! The bottle came in its own box with liner notes about the year in which the vintage was created. Schmancy.
in 1995 I had just started uni. Where were you?
1 tag
Book love
You know you’re in for a ride when the book you’re reading opens the second chapter with this quote: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you really think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt.
Wow. I’m equal parts inspired and intimidated. I can imagine using the above quote in one of the...
1 tag
Growing
This is what a balcony garden looks like in Bondi; small, cramped, barely enough sun but full of potential deliciousness.
My plants really only get about 4-5 hours of direct sunlight, so it will be interesting to see if the strawberries and tomatoes actually fruit. So far I have a few flowers.
It looks like the strawberries may fruit, but I’m not sure about the tomatoes. It’s...
The bliss that was Rotorua
More pics of Rotorua, because I just can’t stop looking at them.
We sailed around Lake Rotoiti. Its name, which translates to small lake, is a misnomer, it’s around 10 km long.
Another view of Lake Rotoiti.
Soda Springs, where we soaked our muscles in a mineral hot spring.
We visited the house of a local artist who had carved sculptures into the rocks at the back of his...
Eel = yum
Holidays are all about doing something different. Me? I ate eel.
Yes, eel. Slimy, gross-looking, incredibly delicious eel.
Lake Rotorua
For four days I woke up to this stunning view and now I think a bit of post-holidays blues have set in. I’m considering using this as my computer wallpaper, but in doing so I may run the risk of making myself even more blue.
I really do wish I was back in Rotorua, looking out to Mokoia Island, sipping tea and kicking back with a great book.
Incidentally, this book just arrived from...
“It’s more like grace, not earned but bestowed.” A blogger writing about the comfort she receives from the affection shown by her dog. Beautifully put. (Link to come.)
August 2009
4 posts
Amelia Lester
A colleague emailed me this morning and said, “Enjoying the Friday feeling?” and yeah, I am. I have a movie date with my husband tonight, dinner with friends tomorrow and I’ve just stumbled across another inspirational woman. This 26-year-old former Sydney girl is now the editor of the Harvard Magazine Managing Editor of The New Yorker (which is even more impressive!!). I’m so very impressed....
Elizabeth Scharpf
I’ve been heading over to sites like TEDblog, NYTimes etc and using them as an intellectual palate refresher, to remove the guilty aftertaste left by some of the gossip blogs I read. I always find people who are genuinely inspirational receiving the acknowledgment and accolades they truly deserve. These people are always innovative, entrepreneurial and world-changing in some way. One such woman...
I heart pop culture
Oh, pop culture, you clever thing you.
You’ve used photos of animals to retell the utegate scandal. http://dailylolz.lolpolz.com/2009/06/coming-soon.html
Whatever will you do next?
July 2009
13 posts
1 tag
IKEA Home Project
Last night was the launch of the IKEA Home Project, an auction that celebrates 30 years of IKEA’s near-iconic KLIPPAN sofa while raising money to support families and individuals who were affected by the Victorian bushfires. IKEA invited 32 artists to design covers for the KLIPPAN sofa, thus bringing two of my favourite pastimes together – looking at pretty things while sitting on my arse! See...
““You can lead a horticulture but you can’t make her think.” ~...”
– http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/418100.html
1 tag
Why this blog
I love reading almost everything on the internet and also I love to write. Unfortunately I’ve been doing a lot more of the former than I have of the latter and as such I feel a little unsteady when it comes to penning long pieces. Much like a wobbly, newborn colt discovering what these things called legs do, my writing brain is trying to remember how to command the neurones, synapses and ganglia...