Hope everyone has good food and company on Thanksgiving. We've been flat out for the last 3 weeks. This is the first week back from vacation with Bill's' family,(need to blog about that fun experience) and before that the first ever Latrobe Halloween party (need to blog about that too), with 28 kids and a fair amount of parents. So, since Thanksgiving is not an Australian holiday, AND Bill is working the late shift, AND we're a bit exhausted we are taking a pass on the big celebration. So, we'll just count our blessings and save a few thousand calories.
We made and shared pumpkin pie on Halloween, something they don't generally eat here. They eat lots of pumpkin, it's just roasted with other veggies and usually some sort of roasted meat, so eaten in a savory fashion. A few Aussies commented that they assumed pumpkin pie was a savory dish served up with the turkey.
Anyway, here on the day before Thanksgiving, the girls had an athletic carnival at school, which involved all the grades being divided into 3 houses, with names and colors. Each class had races with the winners scoring points for their "house." Risa and Ellary were both in the red house, Paloona. Ellary won one of her races. Always looking around at the others whilst racing, and once keeping her eye on the mob of red teammates that were watching. Not sure what that was about. She had fun, a day off from academics.
Risa and her classmates(the youngest at the school) all had their eyes and mouths wide open watching the event. Risa, as some of you may know, is a gentle soul, not very competitive, and not the most coordinated child. My hope for her was that the noise and crowds wouldn't overwhelm her to the point of non-participation. With lots of prompting from the teachers she finished her 4 races, a dash, a hopping race, a partner race(running while holding the hands of one of her classmates, thankfully someone equally non-competitive), and a teddy bear race(a dash while holding her teddy). She finished all with a smile and a pose for the camera at the finish line. YEAH for Risa! One of the boys in her class dropped his teddy bear halfway through the race, hesitated but was prompted to finish without it. As he got closer to the finish line his frustration mounted and erupted in tears and a red face at the finish line. He dashed back with a teacher to retrieve the lost bear and was comforted by his mother. Oh, to be five!
I got roped into a potato sack and sprint relay, made up of teachers and parents. My teammate and I did the traditional potato sack hop. Others, meanwhile, decided to think outside the sack and ran with the sack on their arms or their head, enabling them to move much faster than us roo wannabees. I tied for last place, but got a laugh out of it. If I'd of known ahead of time I would be hopping I might have worn a bra and maybe a Depends.
It's late spring here and are enjoying some late spring garden delights. A friend shared cilantro and a mix of salad greens from her garden, all freshly picked and beautiful. My neighbor gave me a bunch of broad beans(fava beans). Since I never really even see the mailman, as the mailbox is down at the end of the street, I decided to make felafels made with favas and the fresh mint and cilantro from my friends garden. Jamie Oliver has a show on here, (they're mad about Jamie in Australia) and the broad bean recipe was from his show. Anyway, we had Aussie lamb from the local butcher, felafels with yogurt/mint/coriander raita, and fresh green salad with garden peas. I think that counts as a feast. And as I ate I was thankful for the local connections to the people who grow and share their bounty and friendship. And since it was my first time making felafels, I was thankful it seemed to turn out just like on TV and tasted good, even though it kind of looked like a turd.
We made and shared pumpkin pie on Halloween, something they don't generally eat here. They eat lots of pumpkin, it's just roasted with other veggies and usually some sort of roasted meat, so eaten in a savory fashion. A few Aussies commented that they assumed pumpkin pie was a savory dish served up with the turkey.
Anyway, here on the day before Thanksgiving, the girls had an athletic carnival at school, which involved all the grades being divided into 3 houses, with names and colors. Each class had races with the winners scoring points for their "house." Risa and Ellary were both in the red house, Paloona. Ellary won one of her races. Always looking around at the others whilst racing, and once keeping her eye on the mob of red teammates that were watching. Not sure what that was about. She had fun, a day off from academics.
Risa and her classmates(the youngest at the school) all had their eyes and mouths wide open watching the event. Risa, as some of you may know, is a gentle soul, not very competitive, and not the most coordinated child. My hope for her was that the noise and crowds wouldn't overwhelm her to the point of non-participation. With lots of prompting from the teachers she finished her 4 races, a dash, a hopping race, a partner race(running while holding the hands of one of her classmates, thankfully someone equally non-competitive), and a teddy bear race(a dash while holding her teddy). She finished all with a smile and a pose for the camera at the finish line. YEAH for Risa! One of the boys in her class dropped his teddy bear halfway through the race, hesitated but was prompted to finish without it. As he got closer to the finish line his frustration mounted and erupted in tears and a red face at the finish line. He dashed back with a teacher to retrieve the lost bear and was comforted by his mother. Oh, to be five!
I got roped into a potato sack and sprint relay, made up of teachers and parents. My teammate and I did the traditional potato sack hop. Others, meanwhile, decided to think outside the sack and ran with the sack on their arms or their head, enabling them to move much faster than us roo wannabees. I tied for last place, but got a laugh out of it. If I'd of known ahead of time I would be hopping I might have worn a bra and maybe a Depends.
It's late spring here and are enjoying some late spring garden delights. A friend shared cilantro and a mix of salad greens from her garden, all freshly picked and beautiful. My neighbor gave me a bunch of broad beans(fava beans). Since I never really even see the mailman, as the mailbox is down at the end of the street, I decided to make felafels made with favas and the fresh mint and cilantro from my friends garden. Jamie Oliver has a show on here, (they're mad about Jamie in Australia) and the broad bean recipe was from his show. Anyway, we had Aussie lamb from the local butcher, felafels with yogurt/mint/coriander raita, and fresh green salad with garden peas. I think that counts as a feast. And as I ate I was thankful for the local connections to the people who grow and share their bounty and friendship. And since it was my first time making felafels, I was thankful it seemed to turn out just like on TV and tasted good, even though it kind of looked like a turd.
