Monday, December 15, 2008

Sawadee


My hubby and I share a love of Thailand.  Three weeks after meeting we headed off to Malaysia and Thailand together. Nothing like overseas travel to make or break a relationship.  Luckily it was the making of ours and ever since Thailand has held a very special place in my heart.

So it has been disturbing to see and hear of the political trouble there.  

I thought this may be a good opportunity to look back over some my favourite places to stay and visit in the land of smiles. 





Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Washing Away the Economic Blues


Hubby and I have been helping Kevin save the Australian economy.

On the weekend we managed to find me the perfect bike at a Christmas market.

And then while on the search for a pedastal fan we managed to find a front loading washer/dryer.

And it was a BARGAIN.  

Now I have been talking about buying one of these for sometime.  I'd even done a bit of internet research and narrowed it down to two brands. But we had decided that there were a few other priorities around the house and that there really isn't anything wrong with the 10 year old Fisher and Paykel washing machine that we have.  The dryer on the other had had lost it's lint filter so managed to make the laundry and my adjoining office appear to be slightly out of focus as it covered everything with a fine fur.

Then we wandered into Camerberwell Electrics and while we were there for the fan (and maybe a High Def HD recorder - another story for another time) we thought we would just have a look at the prices of the WD's.

In my little bit of internet searching I had seen them for between $2,200 and about $3,000.

We managed to get our silver beauty for $1799 including delivery and they took the dryer to dryer heavan for me.

It was the one off the floor.  Now I'm partial to floor stock.  They have to sell it.  They want to sell it.  So if you appear interested enough they will start throwing in incentives without you having to ask.  We managed to get the free delivery as well as substantial discounts on HD recorder, the fan and a cafe style sandwich press!

And the machine didn't come with a ridiculously large box that I would have to get rid of. 

So now I have fullfilled a childhood dream of having a front loading washing machine and one Australian probably still has a job.

Monday, December 08, 2008

Ayrline


For a couple of weeks recently I was working in Far North Queensland. Ah yes, the tropical north of Australia; Port Douglas restaurants,  Cairns, Townsville.  Or Ayr.

Ayr is 85km south of Townsville in the heart of Queensland's Burdekin region and is a pretty much what you would expect from a country town.  It's the centre of a cane and corn farming area and is about 15 minutes from the beach.

I stayed at the Ayrline Motel. It's not the best motel in town but it is far, far, far from the worse. What makes this hotel so much nicer than some of it's competitors is the management. The couple that run this motel are lovely. They are friendly and tolerant - very good qualities for motel managers

The rooms are small but are all clean.  Some seem to have been recently refurbished. 

The Ayrline doesn't have a restaurant but they do room service.  You need to order before 6.30pm and then nominate what time you would like it. Though in a town where all the restaurants stop taking orders at 8.00pm this doesn't seem outrageous.

There is also a very small pool and a bbq area.  

The hotel is a block back from the main road.  I think though that all the motels are either on the main road or one block back from it.

I don't have photos of the hotel, but here is one of the countryside.






A Fresh Start

I have up until know been one of the bloggespheres most unreliable bloggers.  That is about to change!
I have decided that my blog is going to have a focus.  Well 3 actually.
Hotels - I'm very fortunate in that I get to travel quite alot so from now on I will be adding my thoughts on the hotels and accommodations.
Food - When I eat something particularly delicious I'm going to add the recipe
Bargains - I have two shopping credos. Never pay full price for anything and always remember to think of the price per wear. 
Hopefully now that I have a focus I will blog on a more regular basis.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Souper Weather

It's the middle of April. The leaves are changing colour (slowly) and it should be time to make soup. It should be! I'm not sure if it's global warming but it is 27 degrees in Melbourne today. However I've decided to jump in boots (or sandals) and all and get the cauldrons bubbling.

I'm trying some new recipies. Pea and Ham, Carrot and Orange as well as a couple of old favourites Pumpkin and Herb and Italian Vegetable.

What alot of soup you exclaim. Firstly I find it everso relaxing to chop and boil, secondly if you've got some spare time it's great to take advantage of it and thirdly my one true love is going overseas for a month and this way I will have a frozen supply of delicious and healthy meals for one. Well I hope so, I'll let you know how the new recipies go.

The Italian Vegetable is one of my favourite recipies. I make it by the gallon load every winter. It's so easy, hearty and absolutely delicious.


ITALIAN VEGETABLE SOUP
Soften 1 large chopped onion in 40g butter and 3 Tsp olive oil
Add: 2 large carrots chopped, 3 medium zuchinis chopped, 3 medium potatoes chopped, 200 g grean beans chopped. Sweat these off for a couple of minutes.
Add: 800g tin of peeled tomatoes, I litre of vegetable stock, 1 cup of chopped basil, half a bunch of spinach (I often use half spinach and half silverbeet).
Simmer until the vegies are tender
Puree half the soup and return to the pot
Bring to the boil and serve.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007


As mentioned earlier my one true love proposed to me on the shore of the Zambezi River, looked over by Zebras with the sound and mist of Victoria Falls as the perfect backdrop. It was truly one of the most wonderful moments of my life.


That led us into the mire of decision making and discussion that is planning a wedding. I, of course, wanted to do it as soon as possible. Given that we were also building a house Ewen suggested that we wait until this year. I must have been persistant because we set the date for October the 25th. In Thailand!


Travel plays a large part in our lives and Thailand holds a special place in our hearts. Three weeks after meeting Ewen swept me off my feet and on a trip overland from Singapore to Bangkok. It was in a treehouse in Koh Suk National Park that we first said that we were falling in love. We had a date and a country, we were in love, surely the rest would be easy. HA HA HA!

Monday, February 26, 2007

Well my last post was in August. Since then we've finished the house and gotten married. It turned out there simply weren't enough hours in the day for me to do everything I needed to do just to get through that let alone write on my blog.

New Year new blog resolution. We are already well into the new year but better late than never. So over the coming weeks there will be a rundown on the wedding, some photos of the house and no doubt some recipies.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Today was a seminal day. We picked up our wedding rings. One more step down the road to wedded bliss. Those who read the link on my first entry will know that my one true love proposed to me at Victoria Falls, Zambia last November. I am now sporting a beautiful pink saphire engagement ring.

We aren't getting married until October so it may seem a little early to be picking up the rings but one true love travels alot so I have to pin him down while I've got him here. Lucky too as his ring was too small. (I'm sure there is a joke about a tight ring and the stranglehold of marriage but I can't quite get there.) The tight ring is almost ironic given his dislike of anything tight: clothes, bedsheets, shoes.

My ring fitted perfectly. I know because I tried it on a dozen times before I put it away.

We are getting married in Phuket, Thailand but to be honest I've put the wedding organising on hold while we get stuck into the house building. Collecting the rings though has refocused my attentions so I'm sure I'll have plenty of wedding organising stories to share in the next couple of weeks.