Preparing to Bake and Plant

I can't take the sense of pride of away after finally making my very first loaf of sourdough (picture above).  Many years ago, I used to make loaves of labour intensive bread that involved much mixing, kneading, rising and loads of hard work to make many loaves of somewhat white, dense bread. More recently, I dabbled in preparing bread in a bread maker with variable results and with not a great deal of satisfaction with the end product given that my input into the production was so limited.

Last night and this morning I ventured off to Kate's http://vegetablevagabond.blogspot.com.au/ house  in Cygnet to learn the art and skill of making a good loaf of Sourdough.  We gathered all 7 of us around Kate's country kitchen table and learnt through her warm yet rigorous teaching the finer but unbelievably simple rules of producing a damned good sourdough.  On my return home this morning armed with my rising dough mix I prepared to bake my loaf in the oven.  Even as I placed the mixture onto the shelves I doubted that my end result would be all that Kate suggested it would be.  As you can see, the results were superb and tonight Ian and I enjoyed our loaf with the most amazing organic sunflower oil and dukkah available from Kate's store, brie, sliced meats, dips, cherry tomatoes from the garden and a bottle of red.  It was a meal reminiscent of our holiday in France last year.

Earlier in the day Ian and I headed off for a meal in one of Franklin's pubs the Lady Franklin I do believe the name was.  With our bellies way too full after a large and enjoyable meal we walked to Franklin antiques that has a plethora of rooms upstairs and down that you really need to reserve an afternoon to do it justice.  We wandered through the various rooms lusting after various pieces, being silly with vintage hats and outfits and reminiscing at the retro furniture that is now so valued but so commonplace and mundane in our growing up years.  At the rear of the antique shop is Jills Bloomers and search through them we did!  We left there armed with cottage garden plants you will see in the basket above, a beautiful bowl perfect for rising sough dough but oh so pretty and hand painted on the island of Jersey and an exquisite hand painted Italian plate.  

From there we headed off to Huonville for some less interesting grocery shopping and then purchased lots of veggie seedlings to plant in our garden. Planting out the celery, coriander, beetroot, silver beet, carrots and leeks will be my task for tomorrow.

One of the highlights of today was meeting people whom I have known through blogging but not actually met face to face.  Reading people's blog sites gives you such an insight into their worlds but the opportunity to finally meet face to face is fabulous.  Kate who led the course and Susan http://huonview.blogspot.com.au/ were only known in the world of cyberspace up until yesterday.  It was so lovely to meet them both after long admiring their writings and sharings on their sites.  Jo another participant in the course is also a blogger and though I've not read her blog I look forward to doing so in the future.  New friends, new skills and new explorations they have been my day.  Each day brings a closer connection to my new community and to our land.  Finally, the random shot of Gerberas above is there because they were bought more than a week ago from  in Cradoc and they continue to provide a splash of colour and happiness in our new home.

We have landed...We now call Tulip Tree Cottage home

So much time has passed since I last wrote as life has been so incredibly busy as we prepared for and then went through the arduous process of packing and moving.  The last couple of months have been a time of anticipation, exhaustive activity, last minute legal hitches, mismatched settlement dates, a life lived in one room for 3 weeks, happy farewells and then finally the big move.

I so wanted to shout to the world we are here, victorious despite the challenges and now we have arrived in our new country abode. However, a move means a wait of nearly two weeks for internet connection not made easier by just a snippet of mobile phone reception here at Cradoc so my blogger celebration of our move begins now - 2 weeks after we arrived at our new home.

The first evening of our arrival we both stood on our new balcony overlooking the hills and looked in awe as the sun set of the rolling green hills of Franklin on the other side of the Huon.  Not a day has gone by where we both have not stopped and just gasped at the beauty of the environs that embrace us in our new home.  I do wonder if we will ever fail to see that view in the way that time can numb the wonder of what in its newness is so striking.  I have committed to never let this be so.

Our first two weeks has been marked by work, work and more work. Ian has been consumed with two key tasks.  The first being to wire over all of our wooden paling fences in an effort to keep our to Houdini pooches contained before we both return to work.  The second is to try and drive what sounds like an army of rats that live in our roof space but that fortunately rarely ever seem to venture downstairs.  Nevertheless, their rumbling upstairs are enough to raise the hairs on my arms and leave me feeling hyper alert.  The first is a battle we felt quite defeated by yesterday when we returned home from an outing to see each of them either side of the front gate like guarding lions like those of the pyramids and patiently waiting our return.  The latter is also a battle we are losing with 5 critters caught already and yet early evening still heralding a rampaging march within the roof that I'm beginning to think that only mobilisation on the scale of that seen for the Normandy landings will defeat.

I've been focussing on unpacking the inside and finally feel like this week I may have broken the back of it and the final touch will be getting up all of our pictures.  I think then it will truly feel like home.

With our absolute lack of knowledge around gardening equipment beyond a domestic lawn mower we headed off today to the Hounville STHIL shop. One and a half hours of the intricacies of operating a Work Boss Chain Saw and a way too powerful Brushcutter...nearly $2,000 poorer but laden with all the essential extras we left the store feeling we were well on the way to becoming true country folk.  

Two weeks of immensely hard work, physical, mental and emotional challenge that has been coupled with immense joy, excitement and sense of awe and wonder at the beauty, serenity and soul affirming environment that is now ours.

On Saturday and Sunday I will join Kate (Vegetable Vagabond) and others in Cygnet to learn about Sourdough bread making.  The first of many steps on the journey to a more organic, sustainable and self productive life.  I look forward to sharing more in the months to come and hopefully documenting our progress and achievements at Tulip Tree Cottage.