Productive Day

You know those jobs you have to do that you keep putting off, and they stay in either (a) your head; or (b) on your to do list; or (c) on a sticky note on the side of your PC? All the tasks around them get checked off so they are the only ones left on the page, or they keep you awake at night as little peas under the mattress making you wriggle and squirm, or the post it note has been there so long it has lost its stickiness and it keeps falling off the monitor?

We all have them, we all get bothered by them and we all put them off until we can no longer bear it.  Well you know those jobs?  Do you have any festering away?

Well I tackled one of my biggest and longest ones today and wow, do I feel better?  (yes is the answer in case you were wondering!)

A big part of my job is to get all the accounts data together in a format that I can send it off to our accountants so that they can do the legal (and tricky) job of preparing the Tax Returns.  The process is not so hard, just long and you have to be thorough and you have to follow a specific process.  The issue I had was that our accounting program we use in-house is not really designed to produce tax ready reports, but it does do a great job of tracking jobs and sales and inventory etc.  So I kinda have to wax the reports so that they are in a format that I can send to the wonderful boys who prepare our returns.  Being an all or nothing perfectionist, I knew I could not do this job to perfection like I crave.  Thus the big put-off.

A long running issue is the end of year rollover.  I can't rollover the year until all the accounts are reconciled.  I can't reconcile as some of the accounts are not able to be journaled.  Putting it off year after year hasn't helped any, and now I have a big and tricky job to fix it all and start a clean slate for the next financial year. 

Cue the putting off scene ... this was meant to be done back in March, my accountant has been waiting patiently since then.  I have been pondering how to do this for months, and I finally came up with what I (think) will work.

TODAY .. I knuckled down and did it.  Well I will be a little truthful and confess that I had spent 2 weeks doing every single other job on my list, and even some minor ones that did not rate even writing down.  I had completely run out of things to do and had absolutely no choice but to grit my yellow highlighter and get it done!  And you know what?  Of course you know ... It wasn't nearly as bad as I had built up in my mind (when will I ever learn this lesson?). 

So now I am feeling pretty good about myself and the fact I sent off the (very apologetic) email to my dear and sweet accountant, along with a 3 page report of the work done.

Step 2 can commence as soon as I hear back from him.  I will dedicate the next week to staying in focus on this task as I want a big red line crossed out on my task list for good.

Go away world

I had such a lovely weekend with my parents up for a few days, hanging with my sons and spending a lot of time out at our beloved property.  Today, the stress's and pressures and crappy stuff came creeping back in.  I don't suffer from the old Monday-itis anymore so its all bright and chirpy first thing.  About morning tea time, the downhill slide starts - emails, phone calls, messages from staff.  Like sand through an hour glass (the days of our lives) it piles up and smothers my mood.  yep.  right now I feel like a pile of sand!

But I have a remedy now.  I take a little break, walk with the doggies in the garden (such that it is here in suburbia).  Look at the sky and feel the sun.  Smile at the antics of the dogs, smile at my pure white dahlia in flower, smile at the parsley green and gorgeous.

Now I am refreshed and relaxed and head inside to make a (real) pot of tea and onto the next challenge.

Makes all the difference.  Am ever so grateful I have the choice to work from home.

High Tea at Tranby House

Had a truly scrumptious day today. 

It all started with a wonderful nights sleep and a mini sleep in.  We got to have a little dress up as we were of to have a Parisian high tea at a tea rooms next to Tranby House.  This was my Birthday present from Mr C and Ms A. I was also bringing along M&D as a Mothers Day treat.  It was such a beautiful sunny Autumn day, we could not have planned it better.  A white wicker table and chairs in the sun, with views of the river over a sweeping lawn, the old Tranby Farm house nestled under a heritage oak tree and the herb garden ... perfect. 

We ordered tea, they bought out Royal Albert tea cups and saucers, silver teapots, creamer jugs, sugar bowls with a dear little pair of silver 'lump' tongs.  Then two tiered silver cake stands arrived laden with sandwiches, scones (with silver pots of jam and cream), petite fours and little cupcakes and lemon meringue tarts.  It was all so la-de-da.  We all acted like we were born in a Manor House, and later today we would take the carriage out for a turn. 

Now, we did enjoy ourselves as it was all so novel, but I do have some critisisms.  I beleive the people who are running it today are new owners who bought it as a very sucessful business from the couple who started it back in 2008.  I have seen pictures and read reviews of what it was like back then, and it was very traditional and done to a much higher standard.

I can imagine the new owners saw how popular it was, looked at the $38 per head charge, could see how they could cut things back to keep costs down and have followed this formula since.  The reviews on Urban Spoon ssince the change are pretty bad and I will say I agree with them.  Although we did have reasonable table service, it was not what I would expect from silver service tea at that price.  The food was adequate, but again, you expect a little more than adequate in this arena. 

Sandwiches were very plain, cheap ham and beef (coles deli cheap), no herbs in the cucumber sandwiches, no dill in the salmon.  Just run of the mill.

The scones were a triumph however and I would go back just to have a Devonshire Tea. 

The petite fours and little cakes, although nice were not grand.  As some reviewers said, they looked like shop bought cakes, ones you can get in Asian bakeries or even the supermarkets.

If it wasnt for the scenery and ambiance, then I would have objected to the price.  Will be  interesting to see how they go in the next year.

BUT, what this got me thinking about, was having a go at this myself.  Even more fun, what about creating a little group of like minded ladies and hold regular High Teas? 

In the meantime, here is now they do it in London at Harrods...

We are proud to present the menu for our world famous afternoon tea.

Traditional Afternoon Tea

• Ham Sandwich with Grain Mustard Mayonnaise on White Bread
• Cheddar Cheese Sandwich with Chutney on Onion Bread
• Cucumber Sandwich with Cream Cheese, Dill, and Chives on Caraway Seed Bread
• Chicken Breast Sandwich with Horseradish Cream on White Bread
• Scottish Smoked Salmon with Lemon Butter on Rye Bread
• Egg Mayonnaise Sandwich with Chopped Shallots and Watercress on White Bread
• Freshly Baked Raisin and Plain Scones with Cornish Clotted Cream and Strawberry Preserve
• Assortment of Afternoon Tea Pastries and Cakes

£42.00 per person

Enjoy a traditional Afternoon Tea in the spectacular Palm Court.

Champagne Afternoon Tea

£54.00 per person

This tea includes a glass of Champagne.

Bonfire Night



What a rural sight!  Utes, post and rail fences and a fire.

Something very primal about a fire.  We piled up weeks worth of branches and leaves and rubbish from the big clean-up of the property.  A BBQ, an esky and a few family and friends and you have an instant party.  It was such a cold night, but oh so warm and toasty by the fire.  We toasted marshmallows on sticks and ate their crispy, charred outsides and gooey hot insides.  As the fire died down, we moved our chairs in closer and closer until we almost had our shoes in the coals.  Does life get any better?

We now have a pile of lovely potash that will get raked up and put into my compost bin, leaving a nice clean paddock and good stuff for the soil.

Happy Day!

Nothing in particular has made me happy, I just feel a very slow return to a little bit of glee inside.  A lightness, a sense of freedom and dare I say it, carefree.  Just a whisper of it, but enough to make me hope more is coming. 

I hope so - my body has had enough of tension.

Back to a Routine

Fell off the routine wagon the last few months.  Chaos is starting to take over again and I am feeling more and more buried in stuff.  It is time to do one of three things:

1. Move house
2. Move dimensions or
3. De-clutter!

I have lived in this house now for 11 years!  The longest I have ever in my entire life lived in the same place.  My gypsy soul is screaming out for a change.  I am being buried under clutter and I need to clear it so I can breathe.

We have a plan, but it seems to get trodden over by disasters and other people.

I am aiming for the projects to start mid June.  Next few posts I will outline the plans.

Wish me luck. 

Its not you its me

I used to spend a lot time with you.  But we seem to have drifted apart of late.  I don't know if its an autum thing, but I know my interest in you was waning even in summer.  We met occasionally, but the love just wasn't there, was it?  You could be right in assuming there is another who has stolen my heart, but I am here to tell you that its just a casual fling, its a bit of fun - I don't feel any great affection for them at all. Not how I felt about you all those years.

I think, and I am loath to say this, but I think I am going off your kind all together.  At least in a gay abandoned way.  I will still have a little taste here and there, but gone are the days of wild parties with you, staying up late with you, long and leisurely dinners out are also a thing of the past. You must admit, we did have a few all night benders and we were not always good together.  A few times you made me very sick - was it love sickness?

But don't worry, I will always think fondly of you.  A special place in my heart is reserved for you always, after all you have been loyal and true.

I will still visit, and we can remember the good times, but it just wont be every week, and it may even only be once a month or so.  I hope you can bear the separation.

Go and spread your cheer with the younger generation, I think they will like you too!

Not another ... Monday

Monday's, are my nemesis - and you will know this if you read my blog on a regular basis!  I am not sure why I don't like Monday's - but here a few of my theories:

• I remember the stress and build up on the Sunday night.  All fun stopped and it was hair washing night and facing the dreaded question - 'did you empty your lunchbox when you came home from school Friday'?  Knowing full well that I didn't and 2 days later, the mostly un-eaten offerings from my mother would have transformed into creatures from the deep.  Especially if it was summer.  I would dread having to delve into my school bag and retrieve the offending plastic box, and like a prisoner on death row, walk the long hallway to the kitchen and face the music.  Then, with a peeved and harassed mother, it would be hair washing.  Don't ever make your mother cross when she has the potential (and alibi) to drown you!

• Mondays were also the day when you had to re-establish the playground friendships politics.  It was all too common for two girls in the group to have had a weekend playdate, or even more sinister, a sleepover.  New bonds and alliances could be formed in a very short period of time, especially if (a) the parents of both girls socialised as well and/or (b) they did each others hair. Gossip would be rife, and you could easily find yourself on the outer very quickly.  By Wednesday or Thursday, things would have settled down, but Monday was definitely the danger day.

• Mondays during my early working career were always rushed and stressed and with vows that next weekend we will not party and have hangovers and we will get our washing and housework done.  It was just awful facing Monday morning with the great clean underpant hunt and wishing I was more like my mother and had washed my work uniform early Saturday morning and now it was hanging, ready, in my wardrobe.  Recalling those days now, all I can feel is panic and trying to get ready in chaos.

• Then came the kids and my mothers pain and frustration became my own. (hmm bloody karma) Wet, smelly and now going mouldy sports clothes would be pulled from the school bag, accompanied by whining and unreasonable children who insisted they needed these today.  Does that mean they have been in the school bag a whole week?  Bad Mother.  Then there was the guilt of trying to cobble together a satisfying yet highly nutritious lunch box - multiplied by two.  After determining that mother Hubbard's cupboard was bare, proffering $10 each for the canteen usually did the trick for the boys - but nothing for your guilt or the household budget.

• Now the boys are grown and we are empty nesters, Monday's represent another failure.  If I have to go to work on a Monday then it means I failed to pick the right Lotto numbers ... again.

High Tea

Here is a picture story of my wonderful and beautiful (inside and out) Sister-in-Law's High Tea for Mothers Day.  Thanks for inviting me J, it was a real treat.  She made everything on the table herself and carted it across town and set it up.

How pretty is this?  Note Mr K sitting right at the end with a tie on (with a black tshirt)

Crystallised Rose Petal Meringues



Gorgeous Little Miss G .  She was agreeing with me that the table was far too pretty to allow boys to sit with us



Little pots of chocolate mouse

So pretty

Maybe a new tenant?

Went out to WG today, to do a few jobs in preparation for a potential new tenant.  She sounded lovely on the phone and her story fits very well with our plans.  I am hoping she likes the house - I know she will like the rest of the property.

The lawn needed another mow, its growing really well. I was thrilled to see the paddocks looking so much better and getting a really good coverage. 

Gave the inside a very quick once over, its such a easy house to clean.

Jobs still to do:

1. Organise tradesman to come and replace the flyscreens on the back doors
2. Clean soot from the front of the fireplace
3. Clean and repaint 2 water stains in lounge/dining
4. Book cleaner to do a thorough vacate clean
5. Clean/replace water filters
6. Get quotes to tile and paint laundry/shower/toilet
7. Put up and secure shade sails.

Will take pictures next weekend.  Should see some good progress.