Goodbye to Grandads house

My grandparents house has finally been sold and is going to be demolished in the coming months for a development on the land. Mum and dad went to have one last look and to see if there was anything else they wanted before that happened.

We went along with them, for a squiz and also so Douglas could help dad remove the awning that was over the back door, which mum plans to hang over her she shed entry way.

Oh my word. What a bloody mess. Turns out the Real Estate agent had not conducted an inspection for many many years and the house and the yard and basically everywhere was trashed. The carpets looked like someone had dragged a car engine over them, there was a hole in the wall in one of the bedrooms, flyscreens completely gone on lots of the windows, the bathroom window was broken and couldn't close... down that side of the house looked like a garbage tip, and I just cannot believe that someone would take their job so completely not seriously and have that to their name. It was ridiculous. 

It was truly sad seeing my grandparents house like that for the last time, but it really doesn't matter. Obviously if they were still here, it wouldn't be that way! The backyard is completely overgrown too and I feel really sad to think of how lovely it was. All neat and tidy, the Hills Hoist ready to swing on, and our little metal tricycle with the back seat for a passenger, being ridden up and down the garden path. That backyard seemed to go on forever when I was a child. There was always something to do and look at, before coming back to the safety of my grandparents.

The doors for the wood sheds down the side of the backyard were wide open, from my brothers and dad collecting things that they wanted to keep. They have always been closed and not accessible by any of the tenants. I remember that was where I would always find my grandfather, in there working away at something. Rockinghorses, stools (believe me, they are indestructible. Mine is still going strong 30 something years later.) and sling shots made from Y branches in a tree. I remember walking around the farm at my parents with him once and him keeping a well trained eye out for any he could take home and fashion into another one for his grandkids and the kids he liked at church.

His old almond tree still stood strong and immovable after all these years, now strung with fairy lights with a long abandoned table underneath.

It was when I walked through this door however that I was taken back to my childhood. This room, seemingly untouched since then (although it obviously was... he died after Doug and I were married) which still smelled exactly the same to me. I felt a rush of emotions and teared up, remembering all my innocent childhood conversations with one of the people who has meant the most to me. I would give so much for another hour with that man, just one more hug.

I loved seeing this little good luck spot on the cupboard door, complete with a lucky penny and horseshoe and his painting.

A bunch of little sea creatures, so appropriate for Fremantle.

I loved this place, his home, so very much.

So these photos are to remind me, in years to come, that he was here. That he was wonderful and that I have wonderful memories of a childhood spent being so loved by my grandparents.

My grandma used to try and get me to nap when I was a small child and she would watch me very  occasionally, and cover me with one of her crocheted rugs (there was so many, made with love and gifted to her grandkids - I still have mine!), on their big bed. They had a large wooden wardrobe and I remember my grandfather always having musk lifesavers stashed away and sneaking us into the bedroom to give us one. I will also never forget, the day of my grandmothers funeral, as a small girl, coming into his room and seeing him cry. My little six year old self, telling him it would be alright and giving him a hug. Who even knows if it happened that way, but that's how I remember it.

I remember sitting on the back step with him in his flannel hat. Pushing the brim up and down and letting the sun shine into his piercing blue eyes as he made faces to make me giggle.

I spent a moment admiring this wall and asked my dad about it when he came in. Apparently grandads signature move was to use the dregs of his paint tins to colour the wall bit by bit and all these years later, it's made a gorgeous picture.

I told mum a few years ago, one time I wandered in and he was busily making a stool, with the name JADE carved on the front. I asked if it was for me and he assured me it was for another little girl called Jade. Not long after for a birthday or Christmas (both the same when you are me! haha) it appeared. It's the one mentioned above, painted light pink and being loved and used daily still as a step in my pantry.

Even back then, you had to carefully go into the second shed and duck around the piles of wood. I am sure he used every piece he could, but there's still enough for a lifetime and then some.

As one last point of entertainment, my grandmother let me help her with the vacuuming once when I was very small. I pushed the machine over the rug in the lounge room, pushing the fibres in the wrong direction and making it look all askew. I was so upset and was kneeling on the ground trying desperately to push them back into place when she found me a few minutes later, she had a good laugh and assured me that there was nothing damaged.

Farewell little house. You were so very loved by everyone who entered in.

Many, many years ago my mother cross stitched a small sampler which used to hang by my grandparents front door. I have it now and it's hung in my Nollamara house, this house and will hang again in my new home.

Bless this house Oh Lord we pray.

Keep it safe both night and day.

Bless each corner brick and rafter.

Keep it filled with love and laughter.

There was so much love and laughter in this precious home. I am so grateful to have been blessed with a grandparents who had so much love to give. ❤

Go kart time!

So. When I was a kid we had a go kart, which very occasionally we would ride down Connor Road at breakneck speeds while someone waited at the bottom to make sure that no cars would hit the riders. I have very fond memories of being held tightly between Jared's knees on multiple occasions as we flew down the road. It was the absolute best. You'd use the rope to steer from the cross bar and eventually pull to go one way at the bottom of the hill. Fun times.

I feel like my kids miss out on a lot of that by being city kids, but to my absolute delight, a few months back, I found a wooden crashed and abandoned at the bottom of Peppa Pig Hill (the top end of Thomby Avenue, the street between the new house and our current house.) with one wheel broken and one missing. We drove past it for at least two weeks (I said it was to make sure no one claimed it, but let's be honest, it was cause I kept forgetting to go back when it was dark so no one could see me!) before I actually stopped and loaded it into the back of my car (grateful once again for the Outlander!) and handed it off to Grandad Neil for repairs. 

My dad is the flipping best. Next time we were up in Clackline, it was set and ready to roll. Fully repaired and then some... Maddie was out and doing runs before I could properly explain to her how to do it. Oh for a life in the country! It's not my turn as an adult yet, but one day!

And this dude? Ladybug boots stolen from Nannas laundry, new (to him, from the opshop, but still actually brand new!) lunchbag (that we are calling "my lunchbox!") in hand, filled with plastic fruit and vegetables, also from the opshop.

What a life.

 

Spaghetti Casserole

This is one of the greatest meals of my childhood - Spaghetti Casserole. My mum used to make it all the time when I was a kid and it is so delicious! I make it often as an adult and without fail, if I make it for someone as a drop off meal or they have it at our house, they want the recipe. I always thought it was an old family recipe that Grandma Goodlet used to make, but mum recently corrected me, she tore it out of a Women's Weekly magazine when she was younger. Baha. Still an absolute winner no matter where it came from! I posted a picture on my instagram story when I made it a few weeks ago and my cousin messaged and was like, oh my gosh I remember that! That stuff was the best. Yes it is.

Spaghetti Casserole

250g spaghetti (half a standard pack)
250g beef mince
3-4 rashers short cut bacon
1 large onion
170g tin tomato paste
2 cups water
Grated cheese to taste

Cook pasta according to packet directions, rinse when cooked and set aside
Dice onion and fry until brown, add diced bacon and fry off, then add mince and do the same.
When all the above are nicely cooked, add the tomato paste and 2 cups water. Allow to simmer until well combined and slightly thickened (only thickens a little!)

Assemble with half spaghetti, half meat mixture, then a layer of grated cheese, then repeat.
Bake at 160°C (fan forced) for 30 mins, then allow to stand for 10-15 mins before serving. This allows it to settle, or it just falls apart when you try to serve it.

Weet-Bix slice

This is the taste of childhood if you grew up in Australia. I remember eating this at parties, or just at home... and loving it. Good old Weet-Bix slice. So when I scored a box of recently expired Weet-Bix, I knew exactly what had to be done - and it tasted just as good as I remembered. I took a batch to Ledge Point the other day and the whole lot got eaten. Plus my kids loved it too. This is absolutely going to be a regular roll out.

CHOCOLATE WEET-BIX SLICE

Ingredients

180g Butter, melted

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

3 Weetbix, crushed (45 grams)

1 Cup Desiccated Coconut

1 Cup Plain White Flour

3/4 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Cocoa

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

 

BASIC CHOCOLATE ICING

1 1/2 Cups Icing Sugar

1 heaped Tablespoon Cocoa

1 teaspoon Butter, melted

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

Water, teaspoon at a time

 

Instructions

1.      Preheat oven to 160 degrees fan forced

2.      Prepare a rectangular baking tin

3.      Melt the butter in the microwave. Add to this the vanilla and set aside

4.      In a large bowl add the Weet-Bix, coconut, flour, sugar, cocoa and baking powder and stir well to blend

5.      Add to this the melted butter and vanilla and stir until fully combined

6.      Pour into the prepared baking tin and press until firm and smooth

7.      Bake for 15 minutes and remove from the oven, set aside to cool

8.      Once cool prepare the icing. Melt the teaspoon butter and add the vanilla

9.      Add sifted icing sugar and cocoa and stir to combine

10.  Add a teaspoon of water at a time until the consistency can just drizzle off the end of the spoon

11.  Spread over the slice evenly and if desired sprinkle with a little desiccated coconut to finish

12.  Allow to set, then slice and serve or store in an airtight container

fig salad

mum gave me some fresh figs this week. i love figs! one of my fondest childhood memories is climbing the gigantic fig tree at a neighbours house (neighbours where we grew up was a kilometre or two away haha) and picking buckets of figs for mum to make jam from. i would eat them by the dozen, until my mouth hurt (for those of you unfamiliar with figs, they act like pineapple after a while and make your mouth itchy and a little sore) but i have never gotten sick of them. i love fresh figs, dried figs, fig jam... anything fig. yum!

so... i was trying to be fancy and make something different with them. my friend google helped out there and i found a recipe for fig, rocket and goats cheese salad. i actually had goats cheese too, so i decided to give it a whirl. i found the recipe here and then based mine loosely around it.

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fig and goats cheese salad

ingredients:

95 g whole almonds (i used brazil nuts oops, use what you have haha!)

2 tsp honey

2 tsp soy sauce

¼ tsp sweet paprika or chilli powder (optional)

¼ cup olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (i used regular brown)

100 g rocket (i used a bag of mixed lettuce leaves)

6 fresh figs

150 g goat's cheese

method:

preheat oven to 180 ̊C/160 ̊C fan- forced.

place almonds (brazil nuts here my friends!) on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes. next, combine honey, soy sauce and spice in a bowl. add almonds, toss to coat then return to the tray and bake for a further 4 minutes. set aside to cool. once cooled, roughly chop.

combine olive oil and vinegar in a separate bowl and lightly season with sea salt and ground pepper. drizzle half of the dressing over the rocket and toss well to coat.

place leaves on a serving plate. cut figs into quarters and arrange on the rocket. next, crumble over goat’s cheese and scatter over the chopped almonds.

drizzle with the remaining dressing just before serving.

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this has become a family joke to my husbands family. they aren't good with trying new things and no one wanted to eat it! don't worry, it got eaten and it was delicious!!!!! but now my father in law keeps making fig jokes to me all the time. don't worry, i can't take it! (and him!) if you ever have all the ingredients though, for sure make it, it is so yum!