What a lousy start to the day!
First
of all a small bent winged bat crawled into my shoe when I was in the
shower. I discovered it when I tried to put my
shoe on again and felt something soft and wriggling.
I'd met the bat last night too-
something was rustling in the box of lemons and when I looked inside the bat
flew out. I shut the bedroom door
at once as I don't like bats flying over my nose when I'm asleep- their
breeze wakes me up.
It
must have roosted in the bathroom after a night's insect hunting through the
rest of the house, and then the steam from the shower woke it up.
I
suppose my shoe looked quite attractive to a bat- it's got a nice small black cave in a stretchy
material where I put my foot. Anyway, it didn't want to leave, so Bryan carried both shoe and bat out to the power house- the small shed next to the house
where we keep the batteries for the solar panels and waterwheel that generates
our power here.
Then
straight after Bryan left to go to town this morning a small brown snake slid out onto the
steps. I stared at it for half an hour thinking 'should I do anything' and it stared at me,
then I moved and it slithered off up towards the wood pile.
That
was half an hour ago, and I'm waiting for the next animal invasion.
It's
a horrid day today - hot and hard north west wind, just waiting to whip up a
fire, and a total fire ban. It's been nearly six months since there was water
in the creek. Sometimes I feel it
Just feel it HAS to rain, things are so desperate. But it doesn't. Not a
cloud in the sky, just a haze of smoke.
The
best way to survive it is to think every day brings us just one day closer to
rain- and we're still here, and no bushfire has swept through yet and most of
the garden is still alive. But we've had about two inches of rain- about 50-60
millimetres- in the past eleven months. That's less than most deserts get.
But
at least with a drought you can
think 'Maybe it will rain tomorrow.'
ps bent wing bats are sweet, unles they crawl into your shoe, and they do a
fantastic job catching moquitoes and codlin moth and fruit fly and other pests.
But I still don't want one living in my shoe.
Mothball
Little
Pink is out of the pouch!
I
saw her properly last week for the
first time. Mothball marched out of the hole behind my study first- but with an
empty pouch.
I
was terrified! There are so many foxes and feral cats around at the moment- the
last feral cat we saw was almost as high as my knee, with shaggy black and
orange fur- that I was afraid the baby had been attacked.
Mothball
began to munch the grass under my study window (It's about the only green grass
around). Then five minutes later this small round brown blob with pink ears and
nose dashed out of the hole and tried to jump into Mothball's pouch.
Mothball
promptly lay down. Little Pink climbed on top of her and nudged all around her,
but Mothball wouldn't budge.
So
Little Pink ate grass as well. They both munched for about half an hour, then
the phone rang, and by the time I'd answered it Bryan and Edward had come up
from the shed and the noise scared Little Pink back into her hole.
I've
seen them both a few times since then. I even remembered to buy some film up in
town to take photos of them, but since then- of course- Mothball has moved down
to the hole under the avocado trees again, and I haven't seen them. But I will
try to get some photos before Little Pink is too much bigger- she is so very
cute, with her pink nose and long
pink ears. They'll turn brown as she gets older of course- maybe we should call
her Fuzzball then.
Books
Publishers
mostly don't put out books in January- it's a sort of Christmas leftovers'
time.
So
the latest books are still Diary of a Wombat (managed to get itself on lots of
best seller lists in December- a nice climb for a small wombat), Phredde and
the Leopardskin Librarian, White ship and Blood Moon.
The
next two books to come out will be Valley of Gold, and Big Burps Bare Bums and
other Bad Mannered Blunders, Aunt Jackie's Guide to Behaving Almost Perfectly.
When
is the right time to give someone a wedgie? Is it ever polite to have a bare bum? What should you give your
budgie for Christmas? And should
you ever let your friend copy your Maths homework
In
other words, this is a hilarious
yet commonsense look at good manners,
with advice on the polite way to act in some sticky situations- from how
to burp politely, what to do if
Aunt Ethel keeps kissing you in public, or how to act if a vampire asks you to dinner.
It
should also be essential reading for anyone who wants to get more pocket money,
or better presents from the wrinklies!
Oh, and it will even provide you with some brilliant pointers on how to
become a nicer person and not get laughed at.
Anyway,
it's out in March (I think) and Valley of Gold a few weeks after that. I do
love Valley of Gold- it's a special book, so close to my heart it's difficult
to describe it. And Margaret Power's illustrations in it are so beautiful.
I
finished writing Phredde and the Purple Pyramid last week., though it won't be out
till November, as it has to be edited and the cover designed and everything
else that needs doing to a book before it's published.
I'm
doing all the odd jobs I should have done months ago this week- will start on
the next book then, when I've pulled my courage up from my ankles- it's a book
I've wanted to write for a long time, and I' m always afraid I won't be able to turn it into as good a book as
it deserves to be.
It
always takes three days to really get into a book too, and all those three days
I 'm thinking 'this is lousy this is lousy I'll never be able to do it.'
Then
suddenly it begins to work and three hours later I'm zapping at the computer and have forgotten to put
dinner on.
Some Recipes
The Classic Brownie
I
kept hearing about brownies in 1950's American movie reruns. They are very very
rich and chocolatey.
125gm butter
200 gm chocolate
half cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1 and a quarter cups plain flour
200gm choc bits
half a cup macadamias, walnuts or pecans
Set
the oven to 200c.
Melt
butter and chocolate- till JUST melted on alow heat. take off the heat. Stir in
the sugar; then add the eggs one by one and mix well, then everything else.
Pour
into a greased floured tray; slide into the oven. leave for 35 minutes- the top
should be firm to touch. DON"T OVER COOK!
Take
out of the oven. Leave on the tray till cool. Cut into squares and store in a
sealed container. Note; they should be very very moist inside and crispy
outside. Don't think they are undercooked- this is the way they should be!
Foaming Stain Remover
This is my own invention: I whipped it up in desperation after commercial stain
removers failed to get rid of the grot on my favourite tee shirt. You may need to use it several times,
but it's the best stain remover I've come across (says she modestly).
2 tbsps glycerine
2 tbsps salt
2 tbsps citric acid
2 tbsps methylated spirits
2 tbsps detergent
Then when it's all mixed add 2 tbsps bicarbonate of soda and watch it foam.
Spoon it onto your stains; rub in well; leave till foam is discoloured and wash
out; repeat till the stain has gone.
Wash and dry normally. NB
Do test a bit of this in an inconspicuous place in case it fades the fabric,
and remember that the sooner you attack a stain, the easier it is to
remove. And only use on washable
fabrics!
Choc Cherry Slice
This
is for people who think that the problem with chocolate biscuits is that there
is too much biscuit and not enough chocolate.
400gm dark chocolate
125 butter
2 cups icing sugar
half cup thickened cream
1 teaspoon rum (optional)
2 cups coconut
4 drops pink food colouring
Line
a square cake tin or lamington tin with baking paper, or grease well.
Melt
half the chocolate and spread over the base. leave to set while you make the
rest.
Melt
the butter in a saucepan till it's melted; take off the heat and add the other
ingredients except the chocolate.
Spread
over the chocolate in the tin.
Melt
the rest of the chocolate. Spread over the top. Score the top if you like into
a pattern with a fork, or dust with more coconut or chopped macadamias.
Leave
to set- about 2 hours- then cut into small pieces.
Keep
in the fridge- lasts about a month. (You wish)
In the garden in January
Okay,
it's hot, it's dry and generally revolting. But the stuff you plant now will be
what you are eating- or flowers you are picking- in winter. So if you have the
water and the energy, plant!
Pests
Sandblasted, dying leaves are probably infested with spider mites. Mites are
worst in hot dry weather or where plants are shaded by the eaves. Water them
well, under and on top of the leaves or use PestOil.
Pick up all fallen fruit and clean up
overripe tomatoes so you don't attract fruit fly and codling moth; if
necessary, use a splash-on fruit fly bait according to directions
If
beetles are bugging your plants, vacuum them off. If the cord won't reach
invest in a portable car vacuum cleaner.
Dispose of thoughtfully!
Useful tip: if
you're not sure how long to leave the sprinkler on the lawn, put out a glass
jar under the spray. When 2.5 cms
(1 inch) of water has collected in the jar, move the sprinkler.
What to plant:
Flowers: alyssum, ageratum, coleus, gypsophila, Iceland poppy, larkspur,
linaria, lupin, mignonette, pansy, portulaca, stock, salvias, sunflowers.
Veg: beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, lettuce
(not if the temperature is over 30 - they may not germinate), parsnip, pumpkins
- fast maturing bush ones - radish, silverbeet, zucchini, melons if you don't
get frosts or late summer humidity and have enough water to water your
garden! (At the moment that sounds
like paradise)
Note: In hot humid areas avoid
melons, pumpkin and zucchini; this is a good time to plant sweet potatoes in suitable areas - ie hot.
