Poor Little Duckie

DP & I have driven past the sign pointing to Nulkaba Hatchery many times, saying we should check it out, well on Saturday we did.

It's a small farm, raising free-range chickens & ducks, when we drove in there were 2 big white dogs sleeping under a tree, apparently 'guarding' the stock.

As we turned the corner there would have been thousands of ducks sitting on the grass, under trees, wandering around on the grass. Near a barn there were hundreds of baby chickens, wandering through dust, and swimming in puddles. 

We pulled up, there was 1 other car there (they were buying chickens & related stuff to set up a pen at home), and went into a little room come shop. There was a wall of free range chicken, duck & quail eggs. Another wall of honey & jams (I had to resist the passionfruit jam). A feezer of frozen chickens, ducks & quails, and a fridge of the same.

We selected a duck & a chicken from the fridge, and a dozen free range eggs, totalling $31, which we thought was pretty good value.

We were hoping for duck breasts but went with the whole bird, as the hatchery is still waiting on Council approval to build a processing factory to sell breasts etc.

The owner of the hatchery gave us instructions on cooking the duck (our first), in an oven bag, slow and not too hot, because they're free-range they don't have as much fat as intensively farmed ones, therefore can't be cooked to hard.

We went shopping for fresh veg to cook with the duck and were set.

Now I don't know how much blame we can lay on our dodgy as hell oven (which we're replacing soon), our our cooking skills, but we cooked it at 180c for an hour in the bag, then out of the bag for another 30 mins.  The skin was kind of crispy in spots, but the meat (when we could find it!) was quite overcooked we thought.

It still tasted nice, but it was hard work to get much meat off the bird, we made a terrible mess of the poor little duckie.

The experience has probably scared us off cooking a whole duck again for a while, but we're keen to try cooking breasts on their own, we will not allow duck to be our nemesis :)

Till next time,

Our To-Do List

Ok so it may seem a bit obsessive, but I love tracking things, at the moment I have spreadsheets for:

• mortgage
• super
• shares
• debt
• horse expenses
• weight loss

And a few months ago Mr Mel & I decided that we need a list of things we keep thinking of we need to do, that we forget to get round to doing.  And since we started it, we've got through a couple, which is better than none, so I thought I'd list our to do list here too, so I can track it (I did say a tad obsessive!!).

So here goes, this is our list:

• Security system for house - 90% done - being installed next week
• House & Contents insurance re security 
• Solar installation for house - 5% done - have 2 crews coming out to quote
• Look into Sasha's Blend for the pug
• Build shelves in laundry
• Paint 2nd toilet walls & door
• Sell lounge suites taking up the garage
• Replace dying Mazda - DONE - I love my new i30 :)
• Investigate extended warranty on the Ford - DONE - signed up, covered for next 3 years
• Blog - not this one, a new one that we'll both work on - 10% done - I have setup the domain
• MYOB for business - 90% done - I detest it, but almost done for the 2009/10 year
• Personal & Business tax for 2009/10 - 90% done - as per MYOB 
• Replace office chair - DONE
• Get treadmill working - DONE
• Get allergy test done
• Water tank
• Organise & book trip to Brisbane for Mr Mel - work related (he works for himself)

So that's the list, we're working our way through, and adding more now and then.  We have them written on a whiteboard on the side of the freezer (faces out from kitchen), so we see the list all the time, and often stand there planning.  It won't happen overnight but it will happen :)

So dear readers, do you have a to-do list, or are Mr Mel & I, as we kind of suspect, a tad freaky??

:)

Till next time,

Like minded

On Sunday we went to our local market, the first one they've held since I moved here 3 years ago.

We were hoping it would be a bit more than a fete type setup, so that it would encourage the tourists who come to the Valley to spend more cash locally, and keep the market going, as currently the closest good markets a 2 hour round trip away.

Anyway we arrived at 8am, and were pleasantly surprised to see the car park filling up and stalls galore, excellent!

Our 2nd stall stop was a tiny one with organic seedlings, because the market was just starting up there weren't huge numbers rolling through yet so had a chance to chat with the stall holders. Gloria and her husband Bob.

They live about 10 mins from us on a couple of acres and have converted an acre or so of lawn/garden into an organic vegie patch.  Mainly due to Bob being ill and needing a hobby.

We got chatting, they're trying the first market with seedlings to test the market, then next month bringing the produce along. And they also have a stall at their property, which we'll be heading to this weekend!

I've been thinking more and more over the past couple of years of how much our lifestyle and especially food contributes to our health.

How do we know what the stupormarkets are getting farms to spray onto their produce to ensure it has a longer shelf-life or is more attractive to buyers, or has a uniform appearance, or is available out of season?

Over the past 10 years or so there has been alot of coverage about the effects of asbestos, and people now can't believe that houses were allowed to be built with such a toxic substance.

I wonder if in 20 years our children will be reading the same sort of headlines, but instead of asbestos, it being about chemical 1234 (etc) being highly toxic and having been a common spray for produce 'back in the 2000's'.

Longterm Mr Mel's and my plan is to have our own farm and be as self sufficient as we can be, growing as much produce as we can, and raising and slaughtering our own meat etc.

But in the meantime, we have put alot of effort into our veggie garden, this season we're growing : tomatoes (2), capcisum, chilli, lettuce (5), spring onions (10), snow peas (15), mushrooms, strawberries (5), mint, coriander, sage, oregano, parsley, bay.  It's only small, but it's a start, we haven't had to buy spring onions or parsley for at least a year, and get through summer with our own supply of tomatoes, capsicum, lettuce & snow peas, usually with some left over for neighbours etc.

Gloria & Bob asked for our details after our chat about organics/health etc, and I'm looking forward to maintaining and growing a friendship of sorts.  They've asked if we'd be interested in bringing our surplus veggies out to their stand, for them to sell (and give us veggies in return), and Mr Mel are very excited to get involved in some bartering and exchanging produce.

We're quite excited about having bumped into some like minded people who live close by, even though they're 25+ years older than us, we all had an instant connection, which is rare these days I feel. Especially when we're relatively new to the area (me 3 years from Melbourne, Mr Mel 1 year from Sydney).

I'm excited  :)

Till next time,

Our New Arrival

No not the 2 legged, crying type (yet!), a 4 legged, gorgeous colt, which our mare foaled this morning at 2.30am.

Weirdly last year she foaled a filly at 2.30am also, but 3 days earlier.

The filly weighed 55kgs, this colt is a big boy weighing in at around 75kgs!

All is well with mum & bub, will take some better photos soon, this one is from Mr Mel's phone, we're both extremely happy, and as you can see mum is very proud :)

Till next time,

Can We Do It - Update 5

Another month down and it's mid September, unbelievable, this year is flying.  This is update 5 on my 'Can We Do It Goals', some movement forward, and a fair bit of treading water unfortunately, but it is what it is!

Mortgage

We bought our home in July 2009, We're aiming to have our mortgage paid off in 7 years from starting out, which would make it July 2016.

We're on month 14 of our mortgage, and we're going quite well, we've got approx 54% equity . 

According to my obsessive excel calculations, if we continue on the same path we'll have the mortgage paid off by mid 2016, even allowing for a couple of years at minimum payments (fingers crossed that becomes reality soon!! read below)

Other debt

Our total non mortgage debt includes a car loan (as part of mortgage package, at same interest rate), and a VISA we've since closed.

We're sitting at approx 25% non mortgage debt gone, which is good, we've got the bulk of our money against the mortgage, not sitting in the car, so we're happy with that situ.

Our aim is to have all of this debt paid off by mid 2015, so we're on track there too.

Weight

As per other updates, my weight covers a few areas, getting healthy & fit, getting my body in the right place to conceive (and fit in a near 'normal' wedding dress!!). I am easily distracted from weightloss, so hoping this blog can keep me on the straight & narrow!! We've been talking wedding options over the past few months (even though Mr Mel hasn't proposed yet!!!! don't get me started!), so have to keep on keeping on!!

A new goal is Xmas, Mr Mel & I are venturing to my old hometown for the first time since I 

moved to Melbourne (1992) and I want to move some pudge before heading home.  So the timeframe is set!!

My goal is:

Lose 15kg by 20th December, that gives me 18 weeks, that SHOULD be do-able, the only thing stopping me, is me!!  C'mon me!

Since this new goal was set on 16 Aug, I've lost the miserly amount of 1.4kg, which is pathetic, but the good part is I was pathetic, little to no extra exercise, and too much naughty food, so at least I still lost while being very naughty.

So on that goal of 15kg, I'm 9% there, it's better than 0%, so that's a start!

The good news is we fixed the treadmill, so this week I've been on the treadmill every morning, after walking the pug.  Results should follow!

Business

Mr Mel's work (majority of our business) continues to grow, he gets frustrated that he's not 'bringing home all the bacon he should' but we'll get there, as long as he's happy in what he's doing that's the main thing, the rest will follow

Our bloodstock side of the business (my part) had it's first profit a few weeks back, so it was nice to make a deposit from the horses, instead of constant outgoings.

I think that's about it for the month.....

Till next time,

Boys v Girls oh the differences!

Mr Mel & I are definite soulmates, and know each other inside out, but it still amazes me the fundamental differences between males & females, as an eg:

Saturday morning I'm booked in for a haircut and eyelash tint at 8am, as I'm walking out the door Mr Mel asks if 8.30am is ok to meet me up the street for breakfast, I laugh and say 'yeah right' thinking he's joking, only to look at him and see a face of 'why not' looking back at me.

I gave him a hug and a kiss and say 'you boys are so cute', I'll call you when I'm almost done.

So I head off for my haircut (a local salon that's as good as any I've been to in Sydney or Melbourne), after an hour and a half of coffees, head massaging, hair washing, conditioning, treating, eyelash tinting, cut, blowdry, I'm feeling totally rejuvenated.

As I'm walking to my car, I'm fumbling in my bag for my mobile to let Mr Mel know I'll scoot home and pick him up (we live 2 mins from centre of town), and I hear a familiar whistle, there's Mr Mel walking behind me.

He said he'd left home at 9.30, thinking an hour and a half was more than enough, then had walked by the salon 3 times, once he saw my hairdresser and me laughing, then the next passby I was sipping a coffee, and the next walkby reading a magazine.

He thinks a hair cut should involve:

8am - arrive
8.01am - sit in chair
8.10am - stand up from chair, quick thanks mate to barber
8.11 am - pay and leave

I detailed my appointment for him:

8am - arrive, chat with receptionist for a few mins
8.03am - sit at chair, consult with hairdresser, order coffee
8.10am - head massage, hair wash, conditioner, treatment
8.30am - back in chair with halo thing on giving the treatment a zap, read a mag, enjoy latte
9am - eyelash tint with hair still wrapped, lovely relaxing music
9.20am - chat with beautician about other spa treatments available, have a look downstairs at new setup
9.30am - back in chair, blow dry, hair cut, tonged waves for something different, chat with hairdresser, plus a few of the other girls
10.15am - pay and leave feeling sooooo relaxed

Mr Mel was dumbfounded, and walked with me for breakfast shaking his head and saying 'chicks'................

I'm sure I'm not the only chick whose had a similar situ.......:)

Till next time,