Post 56: Food

The big event for today was to be a delivery from Romeo’s Foodland between 12.00 pm and 5 pm. I had time to get an email out to the World Embroidery Study Group with a sample of Miao embroidery designs. I’m going to try sending something out every Wednesday, 

I was just emerging from the shower when my phone rang. A neighbour was outside the front door of our apartments with something she wanted to bring up. It turned out to be two rhubarb and apple mini-muffins she had just baked. A kind thought. 

I had just dressed when my phone rang again. It was the Romeos deliverer telling me the delivery was outside the apartments. He had buzzed me but I hadn’t answered. It was just after 11am. I went down and collected it, then rang him back to say that in future, if the delivery was going to be early, I needed to be informed in advance. He said he understood. We’ll see.

It was a good delivery, a fresh ham hock to roast, a smoked ham hock for soup and French cutlets. Parsnips, turnips and swedes for the soup, milk, berries, grapes, mandarins, butter, margarine and disinfectant. I got most of it put away except for the soup ingredients.  I put the ham hock on to boil and pulses in a bowl of water to soak.

While the hock was turning to stock. and after the muffins had proved delicious,   I figured I might as well give the ANZAC biscuits a go. After my last year’s failure, my daughter obviously decided I needed scaffolding. The ingredients were weighed and labelled. I had to supply a tablespoon of water.

The recipe was specific, including a note that I was not to skip the step of pre-heating the oven and preparing the trays. I rolled my eyes, but obeyed.  I was determined that this batch would be the control.
No deviation.

My plan is to make another batch in the coming days using my recipe and methodology.

The dough was  pliable and produced a very promising tray of 20 biscuits. I did heat the oven - and I even used the timer for the first time in case I got absorbed in my stitching as they cooked.

The result was, I must admit, almost perfect ANZAC biscuits. I know because I made coffee and ate two of them.

I turned off my stock and left it to cool while I worked on he Mellerstain screen.  While I was working on this a friend phoned. She worked on the first edition of the Macquarie dictionary and has written a history of that dictionary. She told me of some of the original debates around the dictionary entry on ANZAC biscuits. During WWI, apart from the four basic ingredients, women added whatever they had in their pantries. My next batch might be interesting.

I was well into the rhythm of the squirrel’s branch, but I stopped to skim the fat from the stock, add the pulses and chop the vegetables.

While at the stove, I  cooked a potato, lamb cutlets, tomato and broccolini for my dinner. I finished it while catching up with one of my daughters by phone. 








I have made inroads in the squirrel’s tree. It is becoming more and more addictive. 

My soup is looking good. Tomorrow I'll add tomato and maybe try it. Rain is forecast, so soup might be just the thing.

Post 49

I began today by hanging out washing on my Eastern balcony. Although it was a warm day today in Adelaide -29C - the tree in the apartment garden  is exhibiting all the signs of autumn. It will not be long before the leaves are on the ground rather than on the tree.  It's a shame. Although the bare trunks are interesting, I love the screening effect and the birds that the leafy cover brings.

Speaking of birds, my dove friend did pay a brief visit. I think I need to try some birdseed.

This succulent also seems to be darkening its edges in sympathy with the season!


Since it was such a warm day, I decided to wash bedlinen as well. I had another delivery coming today from Romeo's Foodland North Adelaide, the order I put in last Thursday. The confirming email arrived about 8am. The delivery included the ingredients for my muesli and the kefalograviera cheese I needed for the moussaka a couple of weeks ago (yep, a bit late I know, but one day....). The delivery was due between 12 and 5,  so I had plenty of time to get a few jobs done without worrying about listening for the buzzer.  Fortunately,  around 10.45 I did manage to hear it, even without my hearing aids in.

It was the delivery man, to tell my my parcels were outside ready for me to pick up. When I asked him to bring them up to my door, as per my instructions, he said he wasn't allowed to do that, and I should come down and collect them from where he had already put them outside the door. I was taken aback.  He sounded scared and anxious to get away. I had no choice but to quickly make myself respectable and to down to the apartment entrance door, where I found the delivery at a respectable distance from the door.

After I had put the food away, I used the feedback link on the 8am email to send a polite indication of surprise and disappointment. To my surprise late this afternoon the store manager rang me to apologise and assure me it will not happen again. Any future order will be delivered to my door, and be delivered within the chosen time frame. I was very impressed. The call made a big difference in how I felt about both the shop and the delivery. I will order from them again.

Included in the delivery was half a cooked chicken, still warm. I took advantage and had a portion for lunch with salad, and a portion for dinner with even more salad. Both delicious.


Andie, a member of the World Embroidery Study Group, had put together a PowerPoint of her researches into Embroidered Books. This was to have been the focus of our May meeting. There is no point, however, in keeping to a physical world timeline in an asynchronous, online world, so I sent it out today. It's interesting to see whether this opportunity changes the way we operate longterm. 

It has not been much of a photo opportunity day. I spent much of it working on the parrots. Before I stopped for dinner I managed to finish the second parrot and insert the beads in the eye of both birds.










I haven't done much exercise today. I missed the ABC radio dance class in the rush to retrieve my groceries. This is my knee today. Still sore to touch, but not impeding movement.

After dinner I tightened my frame, which was getting a bit slack and got stuck into more leaves. I was hoping to do more, but my eyes are giving out and I'm tired. I'll need to tidy up my leaf tomorrow!