Going Down South.....

Armed with his latest gadget, the Canon 40D, Frank's enthusiasm for his new found passion has crossed all boundaries....and that includes taking pictures during the best light....which means waking up before dawn! @^#%$^&$!!! Where's my holiday!??? Though old habits die hard, and we literally had to run after this sunrise at Port Fairy, because we woke up too late and the sunrise was almost over by the time we dragged ourselves to the waterfront. We still feel rather proud of our "achievement" that morning! Haha...

It's now close to 7am in the morning.....I really appreciate the calm atmosphere surrounding me. Other than an old guy fishing across the banks, there was not another soul in sight. Ahh....the peace! I still managed a smile for the camera despite my zombie state....say "sleep"!


Slowly, the colours of the soft morning light started to stream across the sky in harmonious hues of pink, purple and orange...and the slight breeze creating soft ripples across the waters just makes you feel so alive! Makes it all worthwhile! :) Time for a morning walk to the lighthouse! Do you see it? Way yonder to where the three trees are...here we go!


It's now starting to drizzle a little bit.....light rain + sunlight = rainbow!!! This is all too perfect!


Oh hallo there! It's Mr. Snail on his morning walk, obviously trying his hardest to "run" away from the rude humans! Give up Mr. Snail Slow Poke! You are just too S-L-O-W!!!! Haha...

A fallen sign....it says "Keep Off..."....I think the weather here can get a bit rough at times!

Frank "hard" at work...


Round the bend we go......to the lighthouse we shall roam....


Orange algae? Seaweed? It sure smells like it! :p

Short-tailed Shearwaters....hmm....a.k.a. Mutton Birds, so named because of their rich oily flesh. An endangered species these days, it used to be hunted by the early settlers for meat and oil. Apparently, the aborigines still hunt them and they are one of the few Australian native birds that is commercially hunted.


Another rainbow! I've never experienced so many rainbows in one single morning! Nice shot by Frank with his 40D...

Nearly there...

You take a picture of me...and I of you...

Finally! The lighthouse!

We took over an hour to get here. It's not a long walk, but rather, the scenery around us was so nice that we just had to savour the moment and freeze those memories on film....

The camera was actually falling off the ledge just as this picture was captured with the self-set timer ...and hence the weird tilted angle! Other than a few proud scratches to show-off, our camera survived...phew!

This sign just screams "KEEP OUT"!!!

Everytime I see a wallaby, I think of Illy and DV's cat, Djembe.......other than a shorter tail and a missing pouch, I am pretty sure Djembe can pass off and join any Wallaby party in the wild! :D

Time to smell the coffee at Time & Tide.....ahhh....

My delicious brekky of vegetable quiche with wilted spinach and tomato relish and Frank's bacon and egg quiche....yum! Delish!

Fill your lungs with fresh sea air!!!


We came across a wind farm as we continued our journey south.

As we got nearer to South Australia, I noticed the grass looked so GREEN...."Too GREEN! In fact, fakingly GREEN!!!".....so says the GREEN-eyed monster from Melbourne...

The wind farms are actually quite fun, if you get near enough, you can hear this low, therapeutic, whirring sound from the rotating propellers and occasionally there will be one or two that were not turning as they should be, and Frank's pretty good at spotting those.


It's pouring down at Nelson's Place, but nothing can deter the tourists from taking yet another scenic shot! We got soaking wet and cold, but it was good fun! :D


Luckily I brought along my Uggies!!! They look like loaves of bread (LOL), and they certainly kept my little pinky toes warm and toastie! Never shall I leave home without them....


Although this photo looks crappy and you can hardly spot what looks like a speck in between the trees....it's actually a huge Wedge Tailed Eagle! What a rare sight! It could easily have reached up to my hips if I were to stand next to it! We caught sight of it just by the roadside, having a late afternoon snack off some sort of carcass. A rabbit? A lamb? Too bad, we startled him and after managing a few clumsy running strides, he spread his wings and took flight....leaving us staring in awe at his 2m long wingspan....

This is where our Kimwipes came from guys! It's the Kimberly Clark pulp mill! Being the nerd I am, I just can't resist posing with it!!.....Hey! Why are you rolling your eyes, Frank!?

Sun's out! Time to stretch our legs while our little red and zippy "Guppy" (Suzuki Swift) gets a well deserved break. We took the chance to have a closer look at the wind farm....somehow or other, I was expecting to see Teletubbies, running down that green grass hill, among those wind turbines....did I see the red Po or was that just Guppy?

Mount Gambier, the City of Craters, Lakes, Caves & Sinkholes! The entire region is literally a huge wedge of limestone! Here's a photo of us in Umpherston sinkhole. So what's a sinkhole??? It's actually a "sunken garden"! When the roof of a limestone cave collapsed and fell to the floor of the cave, it createed the perfect environment for new plant growth, thus forming a "sunken garden"...

The layers of limestone, with the dense curtain of foliage makes this sunken garden a very enchanting place....

Another attraction of Mt. Gambier are the volcanic crater lakes. This particular lake that we visited is the Blue Lake, so named because the water is really blue! As explained by the Mt. Gambier tourism website: "The Blue Lake exposes the crystal clear water that has filtered underground as it passes slowly beneath the city through the limestone. Each year in November, the lake starts its colour change from winter sombre blue to brilliant turquoise blue and back to sombre blue from March." So when we were there in June, the water is a sombre deep blue colour. Would love to see it in a bright turquoise blue during summer!

Doing the touristy thing again....

This crater lake has a really funny name..."The Leg of Mutton Lake"! Haha....unfortunately the lake had dried out as early as 1859.

Our crayfish dinner in Robe, though not the freshest. The best season for crays was acutally in April, we were 2 months late.

Another early morning photo shoot in Robe...was a very cold and windy morning. The waves created a really spectacular sight along the coastline.

The Obelix monument, standing tall and strong in the soft morning light....

Guess we better stay away from the edges of the cliffs, though I just can't help but smile at the sign of a person falling off the cliff! How visual!

We made it, another beautiful sunrise! Though I am still more of a sunset person...

Cliff overlooking the city of Robe.

We walked all the way to the jetty and back, what's a holiday without excercise?!

La la la....I love my morning walks!

As the sun climbed higher into the sky, shedding it's beautiful light, the coastline was transformed into yet another spectacular scenery.

South Australia, what a beautiful place! And we haven't even seen half of what it has to offer.....will certainly be back for more magical experiences! Ah...it's good to be alive....

The Bold and the Beautiful

Late Winter: Late July 2009

I've never paid much attention to the flower of the rosemary plant. But last Sunday this pretty and delicate flower caught my eye whilst I was going through the laundry. Definitely brought a light cheer to a cold wintery morning.

But when I looked over to my pot of green pets, to my horror, Rocky had been munched on!!! Poor Rocky, now he has to put up with looking like a savaged succulent for the rest of winter! Hope he will recover in time for summer to wow the ladies! ;)

Winter Squash Babies

Early Winter: June 2009
Yay! Finally we have our first winter harvest!

Aww.....look how sweet our squash baby is!

Mid Winter: Early July 2009
One month later, we had our 2nd squash baby! Smaller but sweeter!

Horror!!! Frank decided to cook them! Noooooooo....CHOP CHOP CHOP! There goes our squash babies into our winter soups and stews!

Get the Lemons Together!!!

We are into our 2nd season of harvest from our good O' lemon tree. They've gone into most of our cooking - roasts, BBQs, salads, stews, sauces, yummy lemon cakes, tarts, pancakes.....refreshing lemonades.....and even for our washing! So what happens if we ran out of our lemon supply!? Yikes! So we started on our preservation plan....gather all the jam jars in the house! Sterilize the jars, quarter the lemons lengthways almost to the base......now for the sea salt....

This is the fun part...stuffing the lemons with sea salt! Leave them for about 30 mins to let the salt draw out the juice.....then pack them tightly into jars, as tightly as possible with more sea salt.....interspaced with spices like fennel seeds, cinnamon sticks, star anise, bay leaf, peppercorns....top up the jars with more lemon juice...

And after about 2 months, viola! We have our preserved lemons ready for use in our winter roasts, salads and marinates! Hmm....or maybe even as gifts? ;)

Cure a Cold with Pancakes!

I have been sick for days. Runny nose, persistent cough....haven't had much of an appetite either. But, I woke up on Thursday morning craving for something sweet, warm and comforting! So pancakes it has to be!! A quick mix of eggs, flour, milk, salt and baking soda....whip, whip, whip....a little butter on the pan....a ladle of batter.....flip!....rest....stack....lots of honey (good for the throat)....squeeze of lemon (good for the blocked nose)......a generous dollop of Jalna yoghurt (good for the tummy)....lots of blueberries for those much needed vitamins and anti-oxidants (courtesy of Robert and Wah Chin, thanks guys!!).....fork in the left, knife on the right, slice....bite....ahhhhhh........

Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver,

110g or 4 oz plain flour

1 heaped tablespoon of baking soda

140 ml milk

3 large eggs

Pinch of salt

Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Mix flour, baking soda, milk and egg yolks till you get a smooth batter. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until you form stiff peaks. Fold in the beaten egg white with the batter. Melt a small knob of butter in a non-stick pan using low heat. Ladle in the batter, wait for the pancake to cook till golden and firm, flip, cook for 1 more miniute, serve with honey and fruits or anything you like with yummy fluffy pancakes! :)

Frank also tried adding ornage zest to the batter and made an orange

(Serves about 8 -10 small pancakes)

The Last Autumn Flower?

Last day of Autumn: 31st of May 2009

Today is the last day of autumn, the sun is bright and cheery as if it's saying "good-bye" before going into winter hibernation! Well, let's hope the sun will peek out at us now and then to break up the grey and gloom of wintery days! Also, happen to spot this sweet bunch of flowers from the good O' lemon tree. Could this be the last lemon flower of the season? In the meantime, it's time to pick our second harvest of lemons! Lemons anyone?

The Small but Strong....Albert Lemon

Last day of Autumn: 31st of May 2009

This is our little dawrf Meyer lemon tree, Albert (christianed last summer by Ileana). Albert has been with us since our last rented place in Brunswick, living on our small balcony, soaking in every little ray of sunlight available. Since then, he has survived bugs attacks, flowered, grown a little more taller and much stronger...and now, he has lemons all over! Well done Albert! :)

What's Been Happening in Our Backyard?

Here's a compilation of the little things that go on in our backyard, be it our first crop of harvest or visits by little friends from nature...

Summer: December 2008-January 2009

Our first ever home-grown tomatoes that had sprouted out from the ground by itself!

We've had a very good harvest of tomatoes this year, big, red and juicy!

Guess what's for dinner? Tomato soup?

One late afternoon, we had a visitor from the garden, all green, with big yellow eyes and two menacing looking claws! It started looking calm but got increasingly annoyed with the shiny metallic one-eyed monster (camera)! It's body started swaying from side to side, claws raised, ready to pounce, all posied for an attack! But before it can do anything drastic, we've already had our fun! Wahahaha.....you are more then welcome to stay in our flower pot Edward Mantis, but be good!

Summer: February 2009

My little chilli babies! I was full of excitement when I saw the first flower in bloom, even more excited 2 weeks later, when it started growing in to a baby chilli!

Autumn: April 2009
Hey there! It's Grandma! She is busy tending to our badly neglected garden during my family's short visit to Melbourne.



One day, Grandma told me we have a round chilli growing in the garden. I checked it out....and hey presto! It's actually a capsicum! Haha...




Other than the capsicum, Grandma also found some butternut squash growing! Before that, we had no idea what this trailing creeper was at all!

A little butternut squash baby...

The flower...but according to Grandma, this flower will not grow into a butternut squash....and she was right!

I now know, this is actually the male flower, and that's why....

We've had 2 rounds of aphid attacks on our "precioussssss...". Grandma painstakingly plucked those little suckers off the plants one by one and buried them!!! Within 2 days they have re-surfaced and infected the plants again! Hahaha....so Grandma resorted to getting rid of them once and for all by crushing them with her formidable green thumbs!!! It worked! Now the baby chillies have grown into big chillies! Though, due to the lack of sunlight, they are still taking a loooooong time to turn red.

When your plant is bending over at the stem and looking a real sorry sight, what do you do? Grandma to the rescue! With her innovation and creativity, she scoured around the backyard and found the perfect solution......"The Formidable Twig"!!! A quick touch or two, and our suffering chilli plant is propped up, looking good and sturdy! As always, Grandma's solutions are always envionmentally friendly and effective. ;)

The daisies in the garden...well whichever ones you think are the daisies! Say "cheese" Mum & Grandma!

Not forgetting the good old lemon tree too!! We've given lots away and preserved some as well, and lots more went into making refreshing lemon teas during the hot summer months!

Winter: May 2009

Our pot of herbs, still recovering from the 42.6 degrees heatwave that hit Victoria during Black Saturday on 7th February 2009.

A close-up of our herb jungle!

Our little orange tree needs a good pruning. The fruits are small but sweet....well, sometimes.

Here's Mr. Pots dozing off under the orange tree! Wakey wakey Mr. Pots, you are supposed to be looking after the garden! :p

Remember our butternut squash babies? They have now grown big and fat! Unfortunately, only 2 have managed to survive. Frank says we have to wait for the whole plant to die off before we can harvest the squash....twiddling thumbs....for now.

31 and marching on!

Another year older, another year wiser! After the big 30 last year, this year's celebrations seemed to be somewhat quieter, a few friends, some good food, a good birthday!

Every year, on each of our birthdays, we will try and bake a cake together. This year, after we've moved into our new house, we realised the existing oven is not working (or maybe we haven't figured out how to get it working!), so I requested a special Nyonya dessert instead. Can you guess what it is?

Got it? Yup, it's Onde Onde! Round and green glutinous riceballs infused with fragrant coconut milk and pandan, each with a melting piece of deliciously sweet Gula Melaka within, and coated all over with toasted dessicated coconut! Yum! Who needs love-shaped chocolates to melt a girl's heart when you have Onde Onde? Haha...love my Frankie-O-Doodle!

Also had a nice dinner at Guiseppe, Arnaldo & Sons, an italian restaurant at South Bank. For entree, we had thinly sliced prosciutto from the cheeks of the pig (Notice the layer of fatty goodness!!? No wonder it tasted so good!), and a plate of equally appetising whitefish carpaccio, with a drizzle of good virgin olive oil, scatters of chilli flakes and young mint leaves, all held together beautifully with a squeeze of lemon! DELISH!

Here's one of the Italian deli owners slicing up salami. The waiters are all dressed in white lab coats which makes the dining experience a little bit of getting used to, since we have always associated lab coats with chemicals and certainly not fine dining!

Our mains....Frank's dish of pig's hand stuffed with minced lamb sausage has quite a grisly presentation! But the pork is so tender it literally melts-in-your-mouth and together with the stuffing, releases a bundle of aromas and flavours. My dish of steamed Kingfish, with organic cherry tomatoes and herbs was fresh and delightful, but nowhere near that intense flavour of Porky's hand!

And here's to another great year! Cheers! Love the tiling too...